Compare Saint Barthelemy (2008) - Spratly Islands (2003)

Compare Saint Barthelemy (2008) z Spratly Islands (2003)

	Saint Barthelemy (2008)	Spratly Islands (2003)

Airports	1	3 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	21 sq km	total: less than 5 sq km land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea
Area - comparative	less than an eighth of the size of Washington, DC	NA
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.	The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 50 islands are occupied by China (about 450 soldiers), Malaysia (70-90), the Philippines (about 100), and Vietnam (about 1,500). Brunei is a claimant but has no outposts. (2002)
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	tropical, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid)	tropical
Coastline	-	926 km
Constitution	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)	-
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: none conventional short form: Spratly Islands
Dependency status	overseas collectivity of France	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	-
Disputes - international	-	all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the island; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"
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.	Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne du Vitet 286 m	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 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	NA
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 France is used	-
Geographic coordinates	17 90 N, 62 85 W	8 38 N, 111 55 E
Geography - note	-	strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs
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 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	located approximately 125 miles northwest of Guadeloupe	Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	-	NA
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of France	Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs, of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
National holiday	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is St. Barthelemy Day, 24 August	-
Natural hazards	-	typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous reefs and shoals
Natural resources	has few natural resouces, its beaches being the most important	fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential
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	6,852 (1999 March census)	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states (July 2003 est.)
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	hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches	flat
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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