Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) - Oman (2008)

Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) z Oman (2008)

	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008)	Oman (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam, Zufar (Dhofar)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793) 15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish
Airports	-	137 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 7 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 130 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 34 (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: 212,460 sq km land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Rhode Island	slightly smaller than Kansas
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.	The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.
Birth rate	-	35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $13.82 billion expenditures: $13.67 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	-	name: Muscat geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow	dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Coastline	NA km	2,092 km
Constitution	-	none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens
Country name	conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI	conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman
Death rate	-	3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$3.483 billion (31 December 2007 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 Gary A. GRAPPO embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-643-400 FAX: [968] 24-699771
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)	chief of mission: Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933
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	boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public
Economic aid - recipient	-	$30.68 million (2005)
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.	Oman is a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources, but sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006, and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. As a result of its dwindling oil resources, Oman is actively pursuing a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialization, and privatization, with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to GDP to 9 percent by 2020. Muscat is attempting to "Omanize" the labor force by replacing foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports.
Electricity - consumption	-	8.661 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	11.89 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m	lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m
Environment - current issues	NA	rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Exchange rates	-	Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2007), 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary
Exports	-	733,100 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles
Exports - partners	-	China 23.6%, South Korea 17.9%, Japan 10.9%, Thailand 10.7%, South Africa 7.7%, UAE 6.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
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)	three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 2.2% industry: 38.3% services: 59.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	5.3% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	54 30 S, 37 00 W	21 00 N, 57 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 on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
Heliports	-	2 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	15,440 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants
Imports - partners	-	UAE 22.4%, Japan 16.4%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.5%, India 4.3% (2006)
Independence	-	1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
Industrial production growth rate	-	3.2% (2007 est.)
Industries	-	crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	4% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	-	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km	720 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a law
Labor force	-	920,000 (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 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: 0.12% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2005)
Languages	-	Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
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 and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla or upper chamber (70 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura or lower chamber (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers) elections: last held 27 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: new candidates won 46 seats and 38 members of the outgoing Majlis kept their positions; none of the 20 female candidates were elected
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.62 years male: 71.37 years female: 75.99 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: 81.4% male: 86.8% female: 73.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America	Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Map references	Antarctic Region	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,155 GRT/7,244 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF): Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	11.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940)
Nationality	-	noun: Omani(s) adjective: Omani
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	summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts
Natural resources	fish	petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
Net migration rate	-	0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 4,126 km; oil 3,558 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	-	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	none
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	3,204,897 note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	3.234% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	0 (2003)	AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)
Religions	-	Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.419 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.238 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken	general assessment: modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable domestic: fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership both increasing; open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: country code - 968; the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat
Telephones - main lines in use	-	278,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.818 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2003)	13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999)
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 desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
Total fertility rate	-	5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	15% (2004 est.)

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