international
services; 3,000,000 telephones; microwave transmission links and
extensive optical fiber transmission network; broadcast stations - 6
AM, 6 FM, 4 TV; 1 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) repeater
station and 1 British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater station;
2,500,000 radio receivers; 1,312,000 TV sets (1,224,000 color TV
sets); satellite earth stations - 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 2
Indian Ocean INTELSAT; coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; links to 5
international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member
nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

@Hong Kong, Defense Forces

Branches:
Headquarters of British Forces, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal
Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,636,397; fit for military service 1,251,901; reach
military age (18) annually 42,044 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $300 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989 est.); this
represents one-fourth of the total cost of defending itself, the
remainder being paid by the UK
Note:
defense is the responsibility of the UK

@Howland Island

Header
Affiliation:
(territory of the US)

@Howland Island, Geography

Location:
Oceania, Polynesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,575 km southwest of
Honolulu, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and
Australia
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
1.6 sq km
land area:
1.6 sq km
comparative area:
about 2.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
6.4 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain:
low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow
fringing reef; depressed central area
Natural resources:
guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Land use:
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
5%
other:
95%
Irrigated land:
0 sq km
Environment:
current issues:
lacks freshwater
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
NA
Note:
almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing
shru