Compare Svalbard (2008) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Compare Svalbard (2008) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

	Svalbard (2008)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	-
Airports	4 (2007)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007)	-
Area	total: 61,020 sq km land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than West Virginia	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	NA	-
Budget	revenues: $25.07 million expenditures: $NA (2004 est.)	-
Capital	name: Longyearbyen geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	-
Climate	arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	3,587 km	698 km
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	NA	-
Dependency status	territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	$8.2 million from Norway (1998)	-
Economy - overview	Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Ethnic groups	Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)	-
Exchange rates	Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$197.6 million (2004)	-
Flag description	the flag of Norway is used	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	-
Geographic coordinates	78 00 N, 20 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Imports	$NA	-
Independence	none (territory of Norway)	-
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	-
International organization participation	none	-
Irrigated land	NA	0 sq km
Labor force	NA	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Norwegian, Russian	-
Legal system	the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	-
Literacy	NA	-
Location	Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Arctic Region	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 4 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Natural hazards	ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic	NA
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	NA	-
Population	2,214 (July 2007 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population growth rate	-0.007% (2007 est.)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Sex ratio	NA (2007 est.)	-
Telephone system	general assessment: probably adequate domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	NA
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (1997)
Terrain	wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	NA	-

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