Compare Liberia (2008) - Christmas Island (2008)

Compare Liberia (2008) z Christmas Island (2008)

	Liberia (2008)	Christmas Island (2008)

Administrative divisions	15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 43.6% (male 698,382/female 695,409) 15-64 years: 53.6% (male 848,951/female 865,380) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 42,745/female 45,064) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber	NA
Airports	53 (2007)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2007)	-
Area	total: 111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Tennessee	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Background	Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003, peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Birth rate	43.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: NA expenditures: NA	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	name: Monrovia geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Coastline	579 km	138.9 km
Constitution	6 January 1986	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Liberia conventional short form: Liberia	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	22.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$3.2 billion (2005 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 7-705-4825 or 4826 FAX: [231] 7-701-0370	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. MINOR chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber	none
Economic aid - recipient	$236.2 million (2005)	$NA
Economy - overview	Civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around the capital, Monrovia. Many businesses fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them, but with the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically-elected government in 2006, some have returned. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained banker and administrator, has taken steps to reduce corruption, build support from international donors, and encourage private investment. Embargos on timber and diamond exports have been lifted, opening new sources of revenue for the government. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial and technical assistance from donor countries and foreign investment in key sectors, such as infrastructure and power generation.	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.
Electricity - consumption	296.9 million kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	319.3 million kWh (2005)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation	-
Ethnic groups	indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF 59.6%, George WEAH 40.4%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	23.31 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Exports - commodities	rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee	phosphate
Exports - partners	Germany 40.1%, South Africa 12%, Poland 11.7%, US 8.5%, Spain 8.2% (2006)	Australia, NZ (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island note: the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 76.9% industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	8.5% (2007 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	6 30 N, 9 30 W	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center	-
Imports	3,532 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Imports - commodities	fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs	consumer goods
Imports - partners	South Korea 43.2%, Singapore 15%, Japan 12.8%, China 8.2% (2006)	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	26 July 1847	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	total: 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 165.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 133.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15% (2003 est.)	-
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO	none
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	-	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 70% industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.)	-
Land boundaries	total: 1,585 km border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 3.43% permanent crops: 1.98% other: 94.59% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law
Legislative branch	bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; note - number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: junior senators - those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election - will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 40.39 years male: 38.93 years female: 41.89 years (2007 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.)	NA
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1,948 ships (1000 GRT or over) 71,387,243 GRT/109,450,945 DWT by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 338, cargo 91, chemical tanker 211, combination ore/oil 9, container 614, liquefied gas 81, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 455, refrigerated cargo 91, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 35 foreign-owned: 1,904 (Argentina 3, Australia 2, Belgium 1, Brazil 3, Canada 3, China 32, Croatia 5, Cyprus 5, Denmark 12, Estonia 1, France 5, Germany 728, Gibraltar 7, Greece 311, Hong Kong 21, India 2, Indonesia 1, Israel 9, Italy 31, Japan 111, South Korea 4, Kuwait 1, Latvia 15, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Monaco 8, Netherlands 28, Norway 42, Poland 14, Qatar 2, Russia 87, Saudi Arabia 24, Singapore 42, Slovenia 1, Sweden 11, Switzerland 11, Taiwan 82, Turkey 7, Ukraine 24, UAE 22, UK 74, US 103, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 3) (2007)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Australia
Military branches	Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.3% (2006 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 July (1847)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	26.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Roland MASSAQUOI]; Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	Demobilized former military officers	none
Population	3,195,931 (July 2007 est.)	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	80% (2000 est.)	-
Population growth rate	4.836% (2007 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2007)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Railways	total: 490 km standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: sections of railway are inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2008)	-
Religions	Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40%	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.949 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	NA
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia; coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators domestic: combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity only about 5 per 100 persons international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	6,900 (2002)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	160,000 (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2007)	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)
Terrain	mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	5.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	85% (2003 est.)	-

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