Compare Lebanon (2008) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Compare Lebanon (2008) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

	Lebanon (2008)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Administrative divisions	8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.2% (male 525,199/female 504,240) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,255,624/female 1,361,265) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 125,904/female 153,270) (2007 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats	-
Airports	7 (2007)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)	-
Area	total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 and the passage in October 2004 of UNSCR 1559 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs -encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"), and Syria withdrew the remainder of its military forces in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. Lebanon continues to be plagued by violence - Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. The LAF in May-September 2007 battled Sunni extremist group Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp; and the country has witnessed a string of politically motivated assassinations since the death of Rafiq HARIRI. Lebanese politicians in November 2007 were unable to agree on a successor to Emile LAHUD when he stepped down as president, creating a political vacuum.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	18.08 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $6.116 billion expenditures: $9.421 billion (2007 est.)	-
Capital	name: Beirut geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	-
Climate	Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	225 km	698 km
Constitution	23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989	-
Country name	conventional long form: Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan former: Greater Lebanon	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Debt - external	$34.67 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michele J. SISON embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality) mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	Of the $7.6 billion in grants and loans pledged to Lebanon at the Paris III conference in January 2007, Beirut as of mid-December 2007 had signed agreements for $3 billion, including $1 billion in project financing, $750 million in direct budget support, $750 million in private sector credit, and $285 million in in-kind aid. About $500 million of the $1.7 billion pledged for direct budget support has been disbursed to Lebanon. Donors in August 2006 also pledged nearly $1.8 billion in aid to help Lebanon recover from the 2006 Israel-Hizballah war. During the conflict, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided $1.5 billion in concessional loans to the Lebanese central bank to maintain confidence in the Lebanese currency. (2005)	-
Economy - overview	The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises, but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict in July-August 2006 caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage, and prompted international donors to pledge nearly $1 billion in recovery and reconstruction assistance. Donors met again in January 2007 and pledged over $7.5 billion to Lebanon for development projects and budget support, conditioned on progress on Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. Internal Lebanese political tension continues to hamper economic activity, particularly in the tourism and retail sectors.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	10.58 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	455 million kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	9.183 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation	-
Ethnic groups	Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians	-
Exchange rates	Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2007), 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: vacant (as of 24 November 2007); note - former President Emile LAHUD's term expired on 23 November 2007, and the Cabinet temporarily assumed presidential powers head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 1998 (next election orginally scheduled for fall 2004 but was postponed beyond the constitutionally mandated 23 November deadline; under Syrian pressure, Parliament extended Lahoud's term for three years); the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the National Assembly is a Shi'a Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	-
Exports - commodities	authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper	-
Exports - partners	Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (2006)	-
Fiscal year	calendar year	-
Flag description	three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.2% industry: 18.4% services: 76.4% (2007 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	0.3% (2007 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	33 50 N, 35 50 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking	-
Imports	102,300 bbl/day (2004)	-
Imports - commodities	petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery	-
Imports - partners	Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US 9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6.1%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)	-
Independence	22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 23.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5.6% (2007 est.)	-
International organization participation	ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	-
Irrigated land	1,040 sq km (2003)	0 sq km
Judicial branch	four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)	-
Labor force	1.5 million note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	-
Land boundaries	total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 16.35% permanent crops: 13.75% other: 69.9% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian	-
Legal system	mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tashnaq 2; Syrian Ba'th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.15 years male: 70.67 years female: 75.77 years (2007 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Middle East	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 132,871 GRT/140,011 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 14, livestock carrier 12, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Greece 2, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 55 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 7, Comoros 5, Cyprus 1, Dominica 1, Egypt 1, Georgia 3, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 3, Liberia 2, Malta 12, Mongolia 1, Panama 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Syria 4, unknown 2) (2007)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force (2007)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.1% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 22 November (1943)	-
Nationality	noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese	-
Natural hazards	dust storms, sandstorms	NA
Natural resources	limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Pipelines	gas 43 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	14 March Coalition: Democratic Gathering Bloc [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Tripoli Independent Bloc Change and Reform Alliance Bloc: Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Tashnaq Hizballah and Amal Alliance: Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Hizballah Party [Hassan NASRALLAH]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Syrian Ba'th Party [Sayez SHUKR]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	3,925,502 (July 2007 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	28% (1999 est.)	-
Population growth rate	1.198% (2007 est.)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 401 km standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006)	-
Religions	Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3% note: 17 religious sects recognized	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.821 male(s)/female total population: 0.944 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	-
Suffrage	21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education	-
Telephone system	general assessment: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete domestic: two wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership approaching 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 961; submarine cable link to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	681,400 (2006)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.103 million (2006)	-
Television broadcast stations	15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)	1 (1997)
Terrain	narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	20% (2006 est.)	-

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