Compare Svalbard (2008) - British Virgin Islands (2008)

Compare Svalbard (2008) z British Virgin Islands (2008)

	Svalbard (2008)	British Virgin Islands (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	4 (2007)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 61,020 sq km land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than West Virginia	about 0.9 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.	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	NA	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $25.07 million expenditures: $NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
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	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	3,587 km	80 km
Constitution	-	13 June 2007
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Death rate	NA	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$36.1 million (1997)
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; internal self-governing
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	none
Economic aid - recipient	$8.2 million from Norway (1998)	$NA
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.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	-	41.85 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	45 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	NA	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Ethnic groups	Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)
Exchange rates	Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003)	the US dollar is used
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); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor
Exports	$197.6 million (2004)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	-	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	the flag of Norway is used	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	78 00 N, 20 00 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
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	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	$NA	604.3 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	-	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Norway)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2% (2005)
International organization participation	none	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	-	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	NA	12,770 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)
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: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)
Languages	Norwegian, Russian	English (official)
Legal system	the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply	English law
Legislative branch	-	unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Arctic Region	Central America and the Caribbean
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
National holiday	-	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)
Nationality	-	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
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	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish	NEGL
Net migration rate	NA	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	2,214 (July 2007 est.)	23,552 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-0.007% (2007 est.)	1.923% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	-	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	NA (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
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: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (plus 1 cable company) (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	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	NA	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	3.6% (1997)

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