Compare Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003) - Saint Barthelemy (2008)

Compare Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003) z Saint Barthelemy (2008)

	Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003)	Saint Barthelemy (2008)

Airports	-	1
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 under 914 m: 1
Area	total: 412 sq km land: 412 sq km water: 0 sq km	21 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC	less than an eighth of the size of Washington, DC
Background	These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve.	Discovered in 1493 by Christopher COLUMBUS who named it for his brother Bartolomeo, St. Barthelemy was first settled by the French in 1648. In 1784, the French sold the island to Sweden, who renamed the largest town Gustavia, after the Swedish King GUSTAV III, and made it a free port; the island prospered as a trade and supply center during the colonial wars of the 18th century. France repurchased the island in 1878 and placed it under the administration of Guadeloupe. St. Barthelemy retained its free port status along with various Swedish appelations such as Swedish street and town names, and the three-crown symbol on the coat of arms. In 2003, the populace of the island voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the island became a French overseas collectivity.
Capital	-	name: Gustavia geographic coordinates: 17 53 N, 62 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour, starts 20 March and ends 17 October
Climate	antarctic	tropical, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid)
Coastline	101.9 km	-
Constitution	-	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands	conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Barthelemy conventional short form: Saint Barthelemy local long form: Collectivite d'outre mer de Saint-Barthelemy local short form: Saint-Barthelemy
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage	overseas collectivity of France
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas collectivity of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas collectivity of France)
Disputes - international	none	-
Economy - overview	No indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited fishing around the islands.	The economy of Saint Barthelemy is based upon high-end tourism and duty-free luxury commerce, serving visitors primarily from North America. The luxury hotels and villas host 70,000 visitors each year with another 130,000 arriving by boat. The relative isolation and high cost of living inhibits mass tourism. The construction and public sectors also enjoy significant investment in support of tourism. With limited fresh water resources, all food must be imported, as must all energy resources and most manufactured goods. Employment is strong and attracts labor from Brazil and Portugal.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mawson Peak, on Big Ben 2,745 m	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne du Vitet 286 m
Environment - current issues	NA	with no natural rivers or streams, fresh water is in short supply, especially in summer, and provided by desalinization of sea water, collection of rain water, or imported via water tanker
Ethnic groups	-	white, Creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia)
Exchange rates	-	euros per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007) head of government: President of the Territorial Council Bruno MAGRAS (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory, economic, social, and cultural council elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Bruno MAGRAS unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	the flag of France is used
Geographic coordinates	53 06 S, 72 31 E	17 90 N, 62 85 W
Independence	-	none (overseas collectivity of France)
International organization participation	-	UPU
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	-
Languages	-	French (primary), English
Legal system	the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply	the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Territorial Council (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - SBA 72.2%, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 9.9%, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 7.9%, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 9.9%; seats by party - SBA 16, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 1, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 1, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 1
Location	islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica	located approximately 125 miles northwest of Guadeloupe
Map references	Antarctic Region	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts fisheries patrols	defense is the responsibility of France
National holiday	-	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is St. Barthelemy Day, 24 August
Natural hazards	Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island	-
Natural resources	fish	has few natural resouces, its beaches being the most important
Political parties and leaders	-	Action-Equilibre-Transparence [Maxime DESOUCHES]; Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy [Benoit CHAUVIN]; Saint-Barth d'Abord! or SBA [Bruno MAGRAS]; Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy [Karine MIOT-RICHARD]
Population	uninhabited (July 2003 est.)	6,852 (1999 March census)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	-
Religions	-	Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah's Witness
Suffrage	-	18 years of age, universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: fully integrated access domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe
Terrain	Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky	hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches
Transportation - note	-	nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles)
Waterways	none	-

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