Compare Christmas Island (2004) - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2004)

Compare Christmas Island (2004) z South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2004)

	Christmas Island (2004)	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2004)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	NA	-
Airports	1 (2003 est.)	none (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	-
Area	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands
Area - comparative	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than Rhode Island
Background	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement was begun by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.	The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908, except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations, and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.
Birth rate	NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA	-
Capital	The Settlement	-
Climate	tropical with a wet and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds; wet season December to April	variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow
Coastline	80 km	NA km
Constitution	NA	adopted 3 October 1985
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island	conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)	-
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
Debt - external	NA	-
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)
Disputes - international	none	briefly occupied by military force in 1982 - claimed by Argentina in constitution but declares it will no longer seek settlement by force
Economic aid - recipient	NA	-
Economy - overview	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993. The casino closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, projected to begin operations in mid-2004	Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. Fees from fishing licenses and related activities traditionally account for around 90% of South Georgia's revenue (about $5.6 million in 2004). There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. Annual tourist volume hovers around 3,000 arrivals.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	-
Electricity - production	NA kWh	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Ethnic groups	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)	-
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.9354 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173(2000), 1.5497 (1999)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Evan WILLIAMS (since 1 November 2003) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia	-
Exports	NA	-
Exports - commodities	phosphate	-
Exports - partners	Australia, NZ	-
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	-
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used; note - in early 1986, the Christmas Island Assembly held a design competition for an island flag, however, the winning design has never been formally adopted as the official flag of the territory	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land)
GDP	purchasing power parity - NA	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - NA	-
GDP - real growth rate	NA	-
Geographic coordinates	10 30 S, 105 40 E	54 30 S, 37 00 W
Geography - note	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean	the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia
Highways	total: 240 km paved: 30 km unpaved: 210 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	-
Imports	NA	-
Imports - commodities	consumer goods	-
Imports - partners	principally Australia	-
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA	-
Industries	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)	-
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA (2004 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA	-
International organization participation	none	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court	-
Labor force	NA	-
Labor force - by occupation	NA	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2001)
Languages	English (official), Chinese, Malay	-
Legal system	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court
Legislative branch	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.)	-
Literacy	NA	-
Location	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia	Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America
Map references	Southeast Asia	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	defense is the responsibility of the UK
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)
Nationality	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island	-
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism
Natural resources	phosphate, beaches	fish
Net migration rate	NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-
People - note	The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports a population of 1508 as of the 2001 Census	-
Political parties and leaders	none	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	396 (July 2004 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	-9% (2004 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Flying Fish Cove	Grytviken
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	0 (2003)
Religions	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)	-
Sex ratio	NA (2004 est.)	-
Telephone system	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: only analog mobile telephone service is available international: country code - 61-891; satellite earth stations - one Intelsat earth station provides telephone and telex service (2000)	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	NA	0 (2003)
Terrain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau	most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes
Total fertility rate	NA children born/woman (2004 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	NA	-

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