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Compare European Union (2004) - British Virgin Islands (2003)
Compare European Union (2004) z British Virgin Islands (2003)
| European Union (2004) | British Virgin Islands (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.3%
15-64 years: 67.2% 65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.9% (male 2,401; female 2,358)
15-64 years: 73.1% (male 8,181; female 7,709) 65 years and over: 5% (male 578; female 503) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | total: 3,130
with paved runways: 1,834 with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003) |
3 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| Area | total: 3,976,372 sq km | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
| Area - comparative | less than one-half the size of the US | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Background | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | 15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | - | revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
| Capital | Brussels, Belgium | Road Town |
| Climate | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 65,413.9 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006 | 1 June 1977 |
| Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Currency | euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK) | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | 4.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Disputes - international | - | none |
| Economic aid - donor | $NA | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | NA% |
| Economy - overview | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 2.635 trillion kWh (2001) | 35.43 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 234.8 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 245.7 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 2.822 trillion kWh (2001) | 38.1 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| Environment - international agreements | Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants | - |
| Ethnic groups | - | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | the US dollar is used |
| Executive branch | chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Orlando SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
| Exports | 6.429 million bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | NA | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Fiscal year | NA | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | - | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| Geography - note | - | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Heliports | 94 (2003) | - |
| Highways | total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center |
| Imports | 16.97 million bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | NA | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.8% (2004 est.) | NA |
| Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.) | total: 18.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2002) |
| International organization participation | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 115,807 sq km | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 211.1 million | 4,911 (1980) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed | English (official) |
| Legal system | - | English law |
| Legislative branch | Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.1 years
male: 74.9 years female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.) |
total population: 76.06 years
male: 75.07 years female: 77.1 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | NA | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 19,203 GRT/28,864 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups." | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| National holiday | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe | Territory Day, 1 July |
| Nationality | - | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | 10.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
| Population | 456,285,839 (July 2004 est.) | 21,730 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.17% (July 2004 est.) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) | Road Town |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
0 km |
| Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | note - see individual country entries of member states | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 238,763,162 (2002) | 10,000 (1996) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,644,700 (2002) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2004 est.) | 3% (1995) |
| Waterways | 53,512 km | none |
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