Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) - Burma (2007)

Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) z Burma (2007)

	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008)	Burma (2007)

Administrative divisions	-	7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne) divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Kayin State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 26.1% (male 6,277,073/female 6,084,001) 15-64 years: 68.6% (male 16,089,764/female 16,425,299) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 1,075,868/female 1,421,953) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Airports	-	86 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 25 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 61 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 32 (2007)
Area	total: 3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of 11 islands	total: 678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Rhode Island	slightly smaller than Texas
Background	The islands, which have large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.	Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and subsequently transferred to house arrest, where she remains virtually incommunicado. In February 2006, the junta extended her detention for another year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.
Birth rate	-	17.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $2.18 billion expenditures: $2.36 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	-	name: Rangoon (Yangon) geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 09 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital
Climate	variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow	tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Coastline	NA km	1,930 km
Constitution	-	3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition
Country name	conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI	conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Death rate	-	9.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$6.632 billion (2006 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Shari VILLAROSA embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 556-509, 535-756 FAX: [95] (1) 650-306
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires MYINT LWIN chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force	over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic rebels, illegal cross-border activities, Karen and other refugees, and asylum seekers from Burma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma; in 2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River which flows through China, Burma, and Thailand; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands; Burmese Rohingya Muslim refugees reside in two camps in Bangladesh
Economic aid - recipient	-	$144.7 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly.	Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Lacking monetary or fiscal stability, the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions in August 2003 against Burma - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. Further, a poor investment climate hampers attracting outside investment slowing the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber with the latter especially causing environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of 2006, the largest private banks operate under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be as large as the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism.
Electricity - consumption	-	3.707 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	5.806 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m	lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
Environment - current issues	NA	deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Exchange rates	-	kyats per US dollar - 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002) note: unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by yearend 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar; data shown for 2002-05 are official exchange rates
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992) head of government: Prime Minister, Lt. Gen THEIN SEIN (since 24 October 2007) cabinet: Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta assumed power 18 September 1988 under name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) elections: none
Exports	-	5,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities	-	gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems
Exports - partners	-	Thailand 48.8%, India 12.7%, China 5.2%, Japan 5.2% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land)	red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 14, white, five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 54.7% industry: 10.6% services: 34.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	3% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	54 30 S, 37 00 W	22 00 N, 98 00 E
Geography - note	the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia	strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
Heliports	-	4 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2005 of 380 metric tons, up 13% from 2004 and cultivation in 2005 was 40,000 hectares, a 10% increase from 2004; the decline in opium production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control was more than offset by increases in south and east Shan state; lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls (2005)
Imports	-	19,180 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	-	fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil
Imports - partners	-	China 35.1%, Thailand 22.1%, Singapore 16.4%, Malaysia 4.8% (2006)
Independence	-	4 January 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; natural gas; garments, jade and gems
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 50.68 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	20% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	-	APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km	18,700 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Labor force	-	28.49 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 70% industry: 7% services: 23% (2001)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2005)	arable land: 14.92% permanent crops: 1.31% other: 83.77% (2005)
Languages	-	Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 62.49 years male: 60.29 years female: 64.83 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.9% male: 93.9% female: 86.4% (2000 est.)
Location	Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America	Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references	Antarctic Region	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	-	total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 364,447 GRT/549,310 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 20, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 5, Japan 3) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.1% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Nationality	-	noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
Natural hazards	the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism	destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources	fish	petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,224 km; oil 558 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	-	National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [TUN YE]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand); Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Organization or KIO; Karen National Union or KNU; Karenni National People's Party or KNPP; National Council-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political mass-member organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]; 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement) [MIN KO NAING]
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001 replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited	47,373,958 note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	25% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0.815% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	0 (2003)	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave NA (2004)
Railways	-	total: 3,955 km narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Religions	-	Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.032 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.757 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken	general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair domestic: NA international: country code - 95; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	503,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	214,200 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2003)	2 (2004)
Terrain	most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes	central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Total fertility rate	-	1.95 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	10.2% (2006 est.)
Waterways	-	12,800 km (2007)

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