Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) - Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2007)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) z Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2007)

	British Virgin Islands (2007)	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Airports	3 (2007)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	-
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 islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke	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 inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. 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. 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	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	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	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	13 June 2007	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
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
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 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. 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, made 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 US 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	41.85 million kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	45 million kWh (2005)	-
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%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)	Europeans, Cocos Malays
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly 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 premier 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 bbl/day	$NA
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	copra
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	Australia (2006)
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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 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
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 makes it vulnerable to money laundering	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	$NA
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	Australia (2006)
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: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2005)	-
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU	none
Irrigated land	NA	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	12,770 (2004)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)	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% (2005)	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 House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1	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: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 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	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	defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)	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	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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	23,552 (July 2007 est.)	596 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	1.923% (2007 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)
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%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	NA
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)	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	11,700 (2002)	287 (1992)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,000 (2002)	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 1 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 (2007 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	3.6% (1997)	60% (2000 est.)

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