Turks and Caicos Islands (2008) | Libya (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.3% (male 3,466/female 3,345)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 7,398/female 6,690) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 394/female 453) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400) 65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 8 (2007) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 21.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47 million
expenditures: $33.6 million (1997-98 est.) |
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Tripoli |
Climate | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 389 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 2006) | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands abbreviation: TCI |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | - | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder | Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes |
Economic aid - recipient | $4.1 million (1997) | $7 million |
Economy - overview | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, offshore financial services, and fishing. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the leading source of tourists, accounting for more than three-quarters of the 175,000 visitors that arrived in 2004. Major sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.76 million kWh (2005) | 18.042 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 11.57 million kWh (2005) | 19.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Hills 49 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources, private cisterns collect rainwater | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, mixed, European, or North American 10% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 ) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney general elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US, UK (2006) | Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 45 N, 71 35 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | about 40 islands (eight inhabited) | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km unpaved: 17,686 km note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | 83.55 bbl/day (2004) | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US, UK (2006) | Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, offshore financial services | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (1995) | 13.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 4,848 (1990 est.) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.33%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.67% (2005) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party - PNP 13, PDM 2 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.95 years
male: 72.69 years female: 77.32 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.86 years
male: 73.71 years female: 78.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,694 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: none
adjective: none |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | frequent hurricanes | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | spiny lobster, conch | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 9.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
People - note | destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and the US | - |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 21,746 (July 2007 est.) | 5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.722% (2007 est.) | 2.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | - | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | - | note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001) |
Religions | Baptist 40%, Anglican 18%, Methodist 16%, Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.073 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully digital system with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service available international: country code - 1-649; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic telecommunications submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5,700 (2002) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,700 (1999) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (broadcasts received from The Bahamas; 2 cable television networks) (2003) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (1997 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |