Government Stats: compare key data on British Indian Ocean Territory & Philippines

SHARE TWEET EMBED

Select year 2008 2010 2011 2013

•  

STAT	British Indian Ocean Territory	Philippines	HISTORY
Country name > Conventional long form	British Indian Ocean Territory	Republic of the Philippines
Country name > Conventional short form	none	Philippines
Executive branch > Cabinet	NA	Cabinet appointed by the president with consent of Commission of Appointments
Executive branch > Chief of state	Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)	President Benigno AQUINO (since 30 June 2010); Vice President Jejomar BINAY (since 30 June 2010)
Executive branch > Elections	none; the monarchy is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch	president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for a single six-year term; election held on 10 May 2010 (next election to be held in May 2016)
Executive branch > Head of government	Commissioner Colin ROBERTS (since July 2008); Administrator John MCMANUS (since April 2011)	President Benigno AQUINO (since 30 June 2010)
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	two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red; a white equilateral triangle is based on the hoist side; the center of the triangle displays a yellow sun with eight primary rays; each corner of the triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star; blue stands for peace and justice, red symbolizes courage, the white equal-sided triangle represents equality; the rays recall the first eight provinces that sought independence from Spain, while the stars represent the three major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; the design of the flag dates to 1897
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	mixed legal system of civil, common, Islamic, and customary law
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Islands; Negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians, who were evicted between 1967-73; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago were granted UK citizenship and the right of return; in 2006 and 2007, British court rulings invalidated the immigration policies contained in the 2004 BIOT Constitution Order that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago; in 2008 a House of Lords' decision overturned lower court rulings, once again denying the right of return to Chagossians; in addition, the United Kingdom created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein	Philippines claims sovereignty over Scarborough Reef (also claimed by China together with Taiwan) and over certain of the Spratly Islands, known locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands, also claimed by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," has eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of attorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf; maritime delimitation negotiations continue with Palau

15 30 60 All

APA MLA MHRA CSE AMA Chicago Bluebook Bluebook/JOLT Citation