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Compare key data on British Indian Ocean Territory & India

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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 India 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. India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization measures, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and have served to accelerate the country's growth, which averaged under 7% per year since 1997. India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly more than half of the work force is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's output, with less than one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services, business outsourcing services, and software workers. In 2010, the Indian economy rebounded robustly from the global financial crisis - in large part because of strong domestic demand - and growth exceeded 8% year-on-year in real terms. However, India's economic growth began slowing in 2011 because of a slowdown in government spending and a decline in investment, caused by investor pessimism about the government's commitment to further economic reforms and about the global situation. High international crude prices have exacerbated the government's fuel subsidy expenditures, contributing to a higher fiscal deficit and a worsening current account deficit. In late 2012, the Indian Government announced additional reforms and deficit reduction measures to reverse India's slowdown, including allowing higher levels of foreign participation in direct investment in the economy. The outlook for India's medium-term growth is positive due to a young population and corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy. India has many long-term challenges that it has yet to fully address, including poverty, corruption, violence and discrimination against women and girls, an inefficient power generation and distribution system, ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights, decades-long civil litigation dockets, inadequate transport and agricultural infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, inadequate availability of quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration.
Environment > Current issues NA deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Geography > Area > Comparative land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Geography > Area > Land 60 sq km
Ranked 8th. 		2.97 million sq km
Ranked 8th. 49553 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Area > Total 54,400 sq km
Ranked 129th. 		3.29 million sq km
Ranked 8th. 60 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Climate tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Geography > Coastline 698 km
Ranked 96th. 		7,000 km
Ranked 20th. 10 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
Geography > Geographic coordinates 6 00 S, 71 30 E 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Geography > Location archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about halfway between Africa and Indonesia Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geography > Natural resources coconuts, fish, sugarcane coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Geography > Terrain flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Government > Executive branch > Cabinet NA Union Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Government > Executive branch > Head of government Commissioner Colin ROBERTS (since July 2008); Administrator John MCMANUS (since April 2011) Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
Government > Legal system the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts
People > Population 0.0
Ranked 245th. 		1.22 billion
Ranked 2nd.
Government > Executive branch > Chief of state Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) President Pranab MUKHERJEE (since 22 July 2012); Vice President Mohammad Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)
Geography > Area > Water 54,340 sq km
Ranked 13th. 		314,070 sq km
Ranked 4th. 6 times more than British Indian Ocean Territory
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 India's public TV network, operates about 20 national, regional, and local services; large number of privately-owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers; government controls AM radio with All India Radio operating domestic and external networks; news broadcasts via radio are limited to the All India Radio Network; since 2000, privately-owned FM stations are permitted but limited to broadcasting entertainment and educational content
Transport > Airports 1
Ranked 217th. 		346
Ranked 21st. 346 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 more than one-third the size of the US
Geography > Elevation extremes > Highest point unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Military > Military branches no regular military forces Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard
Government > Country name > Conventional long form British Indian Ocean Territory Republic of India
Geography > Land use > Arable land 0.0
Ranked 225th. 		47.87%
Ranked 5th.
Media > Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68
Government > Executive branch > Elections none; the monarchy is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held in July 2012 (next to be held in July 2017); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held in August 2012 (next to be held in August 2017); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2009 (next to be held no later than May 2014)
Geography > Irrigated land 0.0
Ranked 28th. 		663,340 sq km
Ranked 1st.
Geography > Natural hazards NA droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
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 saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; saffron represents courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white signifies purity and truth; green stands for faith and fertility; the blue chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation
Geography > Maritime claims > Territorial sea 3 nautical mile
Ranked 188th. 		12 nautical mile
Ranked 79th. 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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