Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2008)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2008)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	-	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Airports	1 (2006)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands	total: 14 sq km land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	about 24 times the size of The Mall in 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 that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. From the 1820s to 1978, members of the CLUNIE-ROSS family controlled the islands and the copra produced from local coconuts. Annexed by the UK in 1857, the Cocos Islands were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island.
Birth rate	-	NA
Budget	-	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	-	name: West Island geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 50 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year
Coastline	698 km	26 km
Constitution	-	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Death rate	-	NA
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
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 including Diego Garcia; in 2001 the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1965 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to 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. The country makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.	Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	-
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Environment - current issues	NA	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs
Ethnic groups	-	Europeans, Cocos Malays
Exchange rates	-	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); 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); represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	-	$NA
Exports - commodities	-	copra
Exports - partners	-	Australia (2006)
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	the flag of Australia is used
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	12 30 S, 96 50 E
Geography - note	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation
Imports	-	$NA
Imports - commodities	-	foodstuffs
Imports - partners	-	Australia (2006)
Independence	-	none (territory of Australia)
Industries	-	copra products and tourism
Infant mortality rate	-	total: NA male: NA female: NA
International organization participation	-	none
Irrigated land	0 sq km	NA
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	-	NA
Labor force - by occupation	-	note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	-	Malay (Cocos dialect), English
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007)
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	-	NA
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka
Map references	Political Map of the World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 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; the territory has a five-person police force
National holiday	-	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	-	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander
Natural hazards	NA	cyclone season is October to April
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 in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2006 est.)	596 (July 2007 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	-	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)
Suffrage	-	NA
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: connected within Australia's telecommunication system domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	287 (1992)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	NA
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	flat, low-lying coral atolls
Total fertility rate	-	NA
Unemployment rate	-	60% (2000 est.)

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