Compare Saint Barthelemy (2008) - Christmas Island (2007)

Compare Saint Barthelemy (2008) z Christmas Island (2007)

	Saint Barthelemy (2008)	Christmas Island (2007)

Administrative divisions	-	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	-	NA
Airports	1	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	21 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	less than an eighth of the size of Washington, DC	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Background	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.	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	-	NA
Budget	-	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
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	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, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid)	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Coastline	-	138.9 km
Constitution	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	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	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	-	NA
Dependency status	overseas collectivity of France	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	-	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$NA
Economy - overview	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.	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.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne du Vitet 286 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	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	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
Ethnic groups	white, Creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia)	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
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	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	-	$NA
Exports - commodities	-	phosphate
Exports - partners	-	Australia, NZ (2006)
Fiscal year	-	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	the flag of France is used	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; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
Geographic coordinates	17 90 N, 62 85 W	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	-	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
Imports	-	$NA
Imports - commodities	-	consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	none (overseas collectivity of France)	none (territory of Australia)
Industries	-	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	-	total: NA male: NA female: NA
International organization participation	UPU	none
Irrigated land	-	NA
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	-	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	-	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	French (primary), English	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	the laws of France, where applicable, apply	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law
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	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: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	-	NA
Location	located approximately 125 miles northwest of Guadeloupe	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of France	defense is the responsibility of Australia
National holiday	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is St. Barthelemy Day, 24 August	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	-	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	-	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	has few natural resouces, its beaches being the most important	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	-	NA
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]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	none
Population	6,852 (1999 March census)	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah's Witness	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
Sex ratio	-	NA
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	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
Television broadcast stations	-	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)
Terrain	hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	-	NA
Transportation - note	nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles)	-

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