Spratly Islands
_Spratly_Islands.jpg)
See regional map IX
Geography
Total area: less than 5 km²; land area:
less than 5 km²; includes 100 or so islets,
coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over
the South China Sea
Comparative area: undetermined
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 926 km
Maritime claims: undetermined
Disputes: China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim all or part of the Spratly Islands
Climate: tropical
Terrain: flat
Natural resources: fish, guano; oil and natural gas potential
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: subject to typhoons; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs
Note: strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; serious navigational hazard
People
Population: no permanent inhabitants;
garrisons
Government
Long-form name: none
Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to
commercial fishing and phosphate mining.
Geological surveys carried out several
years ago suggest that substantial reserves
of oil and natural gas may lie beneath the
islands; commercial exploitation has yet to
be developed.
Industries: some guano mining
Communications
Airports: 3 total, 2 usable; none with
runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439
m
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Defense Forces
Note: approximately 50 small islands or
reefs are occupied by China, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
Sri Lanka
_Sri_Lanka.jpg)
See regional map VIII
Geography
Total area: 65,610 km²; land area: 64,740
km²
Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,340 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 24 nm
- Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay
Land use: 16% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 37% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 8% irrigated
Environment: occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil erosion
Note: only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
People
Population: 17,196,436 (July 1990),
growth rate 1.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 72 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)
