Compare British Virgin Islands (2003) - Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2003) z Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)

	British Virgin Islands (2003)	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 21.9% (male 2,401; female 2,358) 15-64 years: 73.1% (male 8,181; female 7,709) 65 years and over: 5% (male 578; female 503) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Airports	3 (2002)	1 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)	-
Area	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada	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	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Background	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they 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	15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	Road Town	name: West Island geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 55 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year
Coastline	80 km	26 km
Constitution	1 June 1977	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Currency	US dollar (USD)	-
Death rate	4.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	NA deaths/1,000 population
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	-
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
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	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	NA%	$NA
Economy - overview	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.	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	35.43 million kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - production	38.1 million kWh (2001)	-
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs
Ethnic groups	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed	Europeans, Cocos Malays
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	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), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Orlando SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor	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 (2001)	$NA
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	copra
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	Australia (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)	the flag of Australia is used
GDP	purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2002 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	12 30 S, 96 50 E
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation
Highways	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center	-
Imports	NA (2001)	$NA
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	Australia (2004)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	-
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	copra products and tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 18.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.5% (2002)	-
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)	none
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	16 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	NA
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	4,911 (1980)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%	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: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	English (official)	Malay (Cocos dialect), English
Legal system	English law	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5	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: 76.06 years male: 75.07 years female: 77.1 years (2003 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	NA
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 19,203 GRT/28,864 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	cyclone season is October to April
Natural resources	NEGL	fish
Net migration rate	10.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	NA
Political parties and leaders	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	none
Population	21,730 (July 2003 est.)	574 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	2.1% (2003 est.)	0% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Road Town	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	0 km	-
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	NA
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda	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
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (1996)	287 (1992)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	note - analog cellular service available
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)	NA
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	flat, low-lying coral atolls
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2003 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	3% (1995)	60% (2000 est.)
Waterways	none	-

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