Compare Christmas Island (2006) - Indian Ocean (2005)

Compare Christmas Island (2006) z Indian Ocean (2005)

	Christmas Island (2006)	Indian Ocean (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	NA	-
Airports	1 (2006)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	-
Area	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 68.556 million sq km note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC	about 5.5 times the size of the US
Background	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began 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 Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). 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 Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Birth rate	NA	-
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	-
Capital	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 18 44 N, 64 19 W time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical with a wet and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds; wet season (December to April)	northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean
Coastline	138.9 km	66,526 km
Constitution	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	-
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island	-
Death rate	NA	-
Dependency status	non-self governing 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 Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m	lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining	endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
Ethnic groups	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)	-
Exchange rates	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 the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) 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 (2004)	-
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	-
Flag description	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes	-
Geographic coordinates	10 30 S, 105 40 E	20 00 S, 80 00 E
Geography - note	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean	major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait
Imports	$NA	-
Imports - commodities	consumer goods	-
Imports - partners	principally Australia (2004)	-
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	-
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court	-
Labor force	NA	-
Land boundaries	0 km	-
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)	-
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 in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) 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 Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
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	occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches
Natural resources	phosphate, beaches	oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
Net migration rate	NA	-
Political parties and leaders	none	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	1,493 (July 2006 est.)	-
Population growth rate	0% (2006 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)	-
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 - 61-8; satellite earth stations - one INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)	-
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	0; note - TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia (2006)	-
Terrain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau	surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge
Total fertility rate	NA	-

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