Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003) | Indian Ocean (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | - |
Airports | 1 (2002) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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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: 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 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | about 5.5 times the size of the US |
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. | 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 latitude. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
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Capital | West Island | - |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | 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 | 26 km | 66,526 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
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Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
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) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Disputes - international | none | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
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. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | - |
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) | - |
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 |
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Exports | $NA | - |
Exports - commodities | copra | - |
Exports - partners | Australia (1999) | - |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | - |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 20 00 S, 80 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait |
Highways | total: 15 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $NA | - |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | - |
Imports - partners | Australia (1999) | - |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | copra products and tourism | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | - |
International organization participation | none | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | - |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | - |
Labor force | NA | - |
Labor force - by occupation | the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | - |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
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Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | - |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) | - |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
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Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force | - |
National holiday | NA | - |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
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Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
Natural resources | fish | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 630 (July 2003 est.) | - |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0% (2003 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; lagoon anchorage only | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | - |
Suffrage | NA | - |
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) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | - |
Television broadcast stations | NA | - |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | 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 children born/woman (2003 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |