Compare Christmas Island (2005) - Pacific Ocean (2004)

Compare Christmas Island (2005) z Pacific Ocean (2004)

	Christmas Island (2005)	Pacific Ocean (2004)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	-
Agriculture - products	NA	-
Airports	1 (2004 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: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
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 Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Birth rate	NA	-
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	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December
Coastline	138.9 km	135,663 km
Constitution	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958)	-
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island	-
Death rate	NA	-
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	-
Disputes - international	none	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
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 the near future	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	NA	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
Ethnic groups	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)	-
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)	-
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	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA	-
GDP - real growth rate	NA	-
Geographic coordinates	10 30 S, 105 40 E	0 00 N, 160 00 W
Geography - note	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Highways	total: 240 km paved: 30 km unpaved: 210 km (2000)	-
Imports	NA	-
Imports - commodities	consumer goods	-
Imports - partners	principally Australia	-
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	-
Industries	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)	-
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	-
International organization participation	none	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	-
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court	-
Labor force	NA	-
Labor force - by occupation	NA	-
Land boundaries	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)	-
Languages	English (official), Chinese, Malay	-
Legal system	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law	-
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 in 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	-
Literacy	NA	-
Location	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references	Southeast Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	-
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	-
Nationality	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island	-
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
Natural resources	phosphate, beaches	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Net migration rate	NA	-
People - note	the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports a population of 1,508 as of the 2001 Census	-
Political parties and leaders	none	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	361 (July 2005 est.)	-
Population growth rate	0% (2005 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Flying Fish Cove	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	-
Religions	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)	-
Sex ratio	NA	-
Telephone system	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-891; satellite earth stations - one Intelsat earth station provides telephone and telex service (2000)	-
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	NA	-
Terrain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
Total fertility rate	NA	-
Transportation - note	-	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)

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