Compare Western Sahara (2004) - British Virgin Islands (2008)

Compare Western Sahara (2004) z British Virgin Islands (2008)

	Western Sahara (2004)	British Virgin Islands (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)	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 and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	11 (2003 est.)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km	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	about the size of Colorado	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.	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 births/1,000 population	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
Capital	none	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	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,110 km	80 km
Constitution	-	13 June 2007
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Currency	Moroccan dirham (MAD)	-
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals	none
Economic aid - recipient	NA	$NA
Economy - overview	Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.	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	83.7 million kWh (2001)	41.85 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	90 million kWh (2001)	45 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	sparse water and lack of arable land	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)
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	-
Ethnic groups	Arab, Berber	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)
Exchange rates	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999)	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	none	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	NA (2001)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	phosphates 62%	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	-	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	purchasing power parity - NA	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - NA	-
GDP - real growth rate	NA	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 30 N, 13 00 W	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Highways	total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)	-
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; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	NA (2001)	604.3 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Independence	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	NA%
Industries	phosphate mining, handicrafts	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)	NA	2% (2005)
International organization participation	none	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	NA sq km	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	12,000	12,770 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)
Land boundaries	total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	English (official)
Legal system	-	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 years male: NA years female: NA years	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	-
National holiday	-	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)
Nationality	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	NEGL
Net migration rate	-	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	none	NA
Population	267,405 (July 2004 est.)	23,552 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA%
Population growth rate	NA	1.923% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Muslim	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	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	none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco	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	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	NA children born/woman	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA	3.6% (1997)

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