Compare Montserrat (2008) - Christmas Island (2008)

Compare Montserrat (2008) z Christmas Island (2008)

	Montserrat (2008)	Christmas Island (2008)

Administrative divisions	3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 23.5% (male 1,144/female 1,094) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,989/female 3,281) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 527/female 503) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products	NA
Airports	2 (2007)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 102 sq km land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Background	English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possession of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003.	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	17.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $31.4 million expenditures: $31.6 million (1997 est.)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	name: Plymouth geographic coordinates: 16 42 N, 62 13 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat	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; little daily or seasonal temperature variation	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Coastline	40 km	138.9 km
Constitution	effective 19 December 1989	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Montserrat	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$8.9 million (1997)	-
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.)	$NA
Economy - overview	Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcanic activity and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade.	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	18.6 million kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	20 million kWh (2005)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006)	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
Ethnic groups	black, white	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) note: fixed rate since 1976	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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Peter A. WATERWORTH (since 27 July 2007) head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister	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	0 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Exports - commodities	electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle	phosphate
Exports - partners	US, Antigua and Barbuda (2006)	Australia, NZ (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross	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: 1.2% industry: 23.1% services: 75.7% (1999 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	-1% (2002 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	16 45 N, 62 12 W	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages	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 South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe	-
Imports	458 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials	consumer goods
Imports - partners	US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2006)	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	total: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.6% (2002 est.)	-
International organization participation	Caricom, CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU	none
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court)	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	4,521 note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.)	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	English	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	English common law and statutory law	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms) note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council	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: 79 years male: 76.8 years female: 81.31 years (2007 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.)	NA
Location	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	defense is the responsibility of Australia
Military branches	no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005)	-
National holiday	Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Montserratian(s) adjective: Montserratian	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995)	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	NEGL	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Political parties and leaders	Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	none
Population	9,538 note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2007 est.)	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	1.048% (2007 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.048 male(s)/female total population: 0.955 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	NA
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: modern and fully digitalized domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad	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	NA	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)
Terrain	volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	1.77 children born/woman (2007 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	6% (1998 est.)	-

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.