British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Norfolk Island (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | - | NA |
Budget | - | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million; including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
Capital | - | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 698 km | 32 km |
Constitution | - | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | - | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
Exports | - | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | - | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | - | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 July - 30 June |
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 centered on the outer half of the flag | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
- |
Imports | - | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | - | NA |
Imports - partners | - | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004) |
Independence | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Industries | - | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
International organization participation | - | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | - | 1,345 |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | - | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | - | NA |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
National holiday | - | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | - | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
1,828 (July 2006 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | -0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Radios | NA | - |
Religions | - | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | NA |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | - | NA |
Unemployment rate | - | 0% |
Waterways | none | - |