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Compare Taiwan (2005) - Southern Ocean (2002)
Compare Taiwan (2005) z Southern Ocean (2002)
| Taiwan (2005) | Southern Ocean (2002) | |
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| Administrative divisions | includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung county, Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei county, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems |
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| Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.7% (male 2,349,077/female 2,156,755)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,205,933/female 7,980,056) 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,107,708/female 1,094,855) (2005 est.) |
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| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish | - |
| Airports | 40 (2004 est.) | - |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 37
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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| Area | total: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy |
total: 20.327 million sq km
note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined | slightly more than twice the size of the US |
| Background | In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. | A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). |
| Birth rate | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues: $67.41 billion
expenditures: $76.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2004 est.) |
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| Capital | Taipei | - |
| Climate | tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter |
| Coastline | 1,566.3 km | 17,968 km |
| Constitution | 25 December 1946; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000 | - |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa |
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| Death rate | 6.38 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $55.5 billion (2004 est.) | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 | - |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities | - |
| Disputes - international | involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
| Economy - overview | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans; and the essentially vibrant economy pushed ahead in 2003-04. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor, e.g., exports to China of parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries. | Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year. |
| Electricity - consumption | 147.4 billion kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - production | 158.5 billion kWh (2002) | - |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m |
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
highest point: sea level 0 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status |
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
| Ethnic groups | Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% | - |
| Exchange rates | new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 33.422 (2004), 34.418 (2003), 34.575 (2002), 33.8 (2001), 33.09 (2000) | - |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Frank HSIEH (since 1 February 2005) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) - WU Rong-i) (since 18 February 2005) cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9% |
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| Exports | NA | - |
| Exports - commodities | computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) | - |
| Exports - partners | China, including Hong Kong 37%, US 16%, Japan 7.7% (2004) | - |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00) | - |
| Flag description | red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.7%
industry: 30.9% services: 67.4% (2004 est.) |
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| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,300 (2004 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | - |
| Geographic coordinates | 23 30 N, 121 00 E | 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica, and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude |
| Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds |
| Heliports | 3 (2004 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 37,299 km
paved: 35,621 km (including 608 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,678 km (2002) |
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| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) |
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| Illicit drugs | regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem | - |
| Imports | NA | - |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) | - |
| Imports - partners | Japan 26%, US 13%, China, including Hong Kong 11%, South Korea 6.9% (2004) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 12.2% (2004 est.) | - |
| Industries | electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals | - |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2004 est.) | - |
| International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | - |
| Judicial branch | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) | - |
| Labor force | 10.22 million (2004 est.) | - |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.) | - |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | - |
| Land use | arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001) |
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| Languages | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects | - |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | - |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders)
note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by the National Assembly on 7 June 2005, the number of seats in the legislature will be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with the election in 2007; the amendments also eliminate the National Assembly, thus giving Taiwan a unicameral legislature elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007); National Assembly - last held 14 May 2005 election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPP 42.5%, KMT 38.9%, TSU 7%, PFP 6%, others 6.6%; seats by party - DPP 127, KMT 117, TSU 21, PFP 18, others 17 (2005) |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.26 years
male: 74.49 years female: 80.28 years (2005 est.) |
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| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% (2003) |
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| Location | Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China | body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Antarctic Region |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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| Merchant marine | total: 126 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,417,768 GRT/5,617,318 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 23, chemical tanker 2, container 37, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 3) registered in other countries: 432 (2005) |
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| Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7.574 billion (2003) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2004) | - |
| National holiday | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Taiwan (singular and plural)
note: example: he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan |
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| Natural hazards | earthquakes and typhoons | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
| Natural resources | small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs, squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang, chairman]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP | - |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building |
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| Population | 22,894,384 (July 2005 est.) | - |
| Population below poverty line | 1% (2000 est.) | - |
| Population growth rate | 0.63% (2005 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung | McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica
note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) | - |
| Railways | total: 2,497 km
narrow gauge: 1,097 km 1.067-m gauge (685 km electrified) note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau used to haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2004) |
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| Religions | mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% | - |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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| Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | - |
| Telephone system | general assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (1999) |
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| Telephones - main lines in use | 13.355 million (2003) | - |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,089,600 (2003) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | - |
| Terrain | eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep - its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers |
| Total fertility rate | 1.57 children born/woman (2005 est.) | - |
| Transportation - note | - | Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal |
| Unemployment rate | 4.5% (2004 est.) | - |
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