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Compare key data on British Indian Ocean Territory & Germany

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  • Economy > Economy > Overview: This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends.
  • Environment > Current issues: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
  • Geography > Area > Comparative: The area of various small countries expressed in comparison to various areas within the United States of America.
  • Geography > Area > Land: Total land area in square kilometres
  • Geography > Area > Total: Total area in square kilometers
  • Geography > Climate: A brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  • Geography > Coastline: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  • Geography > Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
  • Geography > Location: The country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  • Geography > Natural resources: A country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
  • Geography > Terrain: A brief description of the topography
  • Government > Executive branch > Cabinet: Cabinet includes the official name for any body of high-ranking advisers roughly comparable to a U.S. Cabinet. Also notes the method for selection of members.
  • Government > Executive branch > Head of government: Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government.
  • Government > Legal system: A brief description of the legal system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
  • People > Population: Population, total refers to the total population.
  • Government > Executive branch > Chief of state: The name and title of any person or role roughly equivalent to a U.S. Chief of State. This means the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government
  • Geography > Area > Water: Total water area in square kilometers
  • Transport > Airports: Total number of airports. Runways must be useable, but may be unpaved. May not have facilities for refuelling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
  • Geography > Area > Comparative to US places: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  • Geography > Elevation extremes > Highest point: Highest point above sea level
  • Military > Military branches: This entry lists the service branches subordinate to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air, and marine forces).
  • Government > Country name > Conventional long form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Geography > Land use > Arable land: The percentage of used land that is arable. Arable land is land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest like wheat, maize, and rice
  • Media > Radio broadcast stations: The total number of AM, FM, and shortwave broadcast stations.
  • Government > Executive branch > Elections: Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election
  • Geography > Irrigated land: The number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
  • Geography > Natural hazards: Potential natural disasters.
  • Government > Flag description: A written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
  • Geography > Maritime claims > Territorial sea: territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal State extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the LOS Convention (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles. A full and definitive definition can be found in the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention.
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STAT British Indian Ocean Territory Germany HISTORY
Economy > Economy > Overview All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. Some of the natural resources found in this territory include coconuts, fish, and sugarcane. Sugarcane is still a major export for this territory. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. The territory earns foreign exchange by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its Western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment. These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II - and its decrease to 6.5% in 2012. GDP contracted 5.1% in 2009 but grew by 4.2% in 2010, and 3.0% in 2011, before dipping to 0.7% in 2012 - a reflection of low investment spending due to crisis-induced uncertainty and the decreased demand for German exports from recession-stricken periphery countries. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's total budget deficit - including federal, state, and municipal - to 4.1% in 2010, but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduced the deficit to 0.8% in 2011. In 2012 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.1%. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016 though the target was already reached in 2012. By 2014, the federal government wants to balance its budget. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in May 2011 that eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down immediately and the remaining plants would close by 2022. Germany hopes to replace nuclear power with renewable energy. Before the shutdown of the eight reactors, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its electricity generating capacity and 46% of its base-load electricity production.
Environment > Current issues NA emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Geography > Area > Comparative land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Montana
Geography > Area > Land 60 sq km
Ranked 8th. 		349,223 sq km
Ranked 61st. 5820 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Area > Total 54,400 sq km
Ranked 129th. 		357,022 sq km
Ranked 64th. 7 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Climate tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Geography > Coastline 698 km
Ranked 96th. 		2,389 km
Ranked 55th. 3 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Geographic coordinates 6 00 S, 71 30 E 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography > Location archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about halfway between Africa and Indonesia Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geography > Natural resources coconuts, fish, sugarcane coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Geography > Terrain flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Government > Executive branch > Cabinet NA Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
Government > Executive branch > Head of government Commissioner Colin ROBERTS (since July 2008); Administrator John MCMANUS (since April 2011) Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
Government > Legal system the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply civil law system
People > Population 0.0
Ranked 245th. 		81.15 million
Ranked 16th.
Government > Executive branch > Chief of state Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) President Joachim GAUCK (since 23 March 2012)
Geography > Area > Water 54,340 sq km
Ranked 13th. 7 times more than Germany 		8,350 sq km
Ranked 54th.
Media > Broadcast media Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) broadcasts over 3 separate frequencies for US and UK military personnel stationed on the islands a mixture of publicly-operated and privately-owned TV and radio stations; national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately-owned national and regional TV stations; more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV; hundreds of radio stations broadcasting including multiple national radio networks, regional radio networks, and a large number of local radio stations
Transport > Airports 1
Ranked 217th. 		539
Ranked 13th. 539 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Area > Comparative to US places land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Montana
Geography > Elevation extremes > Highest point unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m Zugspitze 2,963 m
Military > Military branches no regular military forces Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Services (Streitkraeftbasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw)
Government > Country name > Conventional long form British Indian Ocean Territory Federal Republic of Germany
Geography > Land use > Arable land 0.0
Ranked 225th. 		33.25%
Ranked 21st.
Media > Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4
Government > Executive branch > Elections none; the monarchy is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held on 19 February 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Parliament for a four-year term; Federal Parliament vote for Chancellor last held after 22 September 2013 (next to be held September 2017)
Geography > Irrigated land 0.0
Ranked 28th. 		4,850 sq km
Ranked 54th.
Geography > Natural hazards NA flooding
Government > Flag description white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown (the symbols of the territory) centered on the outer half of the flag; the wavy stripes represent the Indian Ocean; although not officially described, the six blue stripes may stand for the six main atolls of the archipelago three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold; these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field
Geography > Maritime claims > Territorial sea 3 nautical mile
Ranked 188th. 		12 nautical mile
Ranked 19th. 4 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

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