Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003) | Guinea-Bissau (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 281,394; female 282,641)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 353,755; female 388,968) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,130; female 21,591) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 14 sq km
land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | 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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy devastated in the civil war. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 38.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | West Island | Bissau |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 26 km | 350 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 15.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $931 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | none | Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $115.4 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2001. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 55.8 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 60 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) William Leonard TAYLOR (since 4 February 1999) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
chief of state: President Kumba YALA (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Mario PIRES (since 17 November 2002) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
Exports | $NA | $80 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Australia (1999) | India 51.4%, Italy 2.7%, South Korea 2.0%, Belgium 2.0% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 54%
industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 15 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 42% (1991) (1991) |
Imports | $NA | $55.2 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia (1999) | Portugal 30%, Senegal 14.6%, Thailand 8.5%, China 5.7% (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
108.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | NA | 480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78% other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held 20 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
total population: 49.8 years
male: 47.47 years female: 52.2 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 34% male: 50% female: 18% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $5.6 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 313,573 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 178,404 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | NA | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Guinean (s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | fish | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 630 (July 2003 est.) | 1,345,479 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2003 est.) | 2.23% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; lagoon anchorage only | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | - | 49,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | NA | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type (2002) |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 10,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |