Compare Virgin Islands (2005) - Christmas Island (2007)

Compare Virgin Islands (2005) z Christmas Island (2007)

	Virgin Islands (2005)	Christmas Island (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 23.1% (male 12,676/female 12,421) 15-64 years: 66.2% (male 34,069/female 37,918) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 5,125/female 6,499) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle	NA
Airports	2 (2004 est.)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 352 sq km land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	twice the size of Washington, DC	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Background	During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Birth rate	14.2 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $560 expenditures: NA (2003)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	Charlotte Amalie	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Coastline	188 km	138.9 km
Constitution	Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Debt - external	NA	-
Dependency status	organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of the US)	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of the US)	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	NA	$NA
Economy - overview	Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment.	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.
Electricity - consumption	962.6 million kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - production	1.035 billion kWh (2002)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	lack of natural freshwater resources	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
Ethnic groups	black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census)	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	NA	$NA
Exports - commodities	refined petroleum products	phosphate
Exports - partners	US, Puerto Rico	Australia, NZ (2006)
Fiscal year	1 October - 30 September	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2% (2002 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	18 20 N, 64 50 W	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
Highways	total: 1,257 km paved: 1,192 km unpaved: 65 km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2003)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	-
Imports	NA	$NA
Imports - commodities	crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials	consumer goods
Imports - partners	US, Puerto Rico	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	-	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	total: 8.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.2% (2003)	-
International organization participation	Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU	none
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms)	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	48,900 (2003 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 est.)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 11.76% permanent crops: 2.94% other: 85.3% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	based on US laws	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law
Legislative branch	unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.91 years male: 75.08 years female: 82.96 years (2005 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	NA
Location	Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the US	defense is the responsibility of Australia
National holiday	Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Virgin Islander(s) adjective: Virgin Islander	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	sun, sand, sea, surf	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	-8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	none
Population	108,708 (July 2005 est.)	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	-0.07% (2005 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Charlotte Amalie, Limetree Bay	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 17, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7%	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	NA
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections	-
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	69,400 (2002)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	41,000 (2002)	-
Television broadcast stations	16 (2004)	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)
Terrain	mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	9.3% (2003 est.)	-

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