Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2003) | Portugal (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.5% (male 914,480/female 837,525)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,501,206/female 3,551,706) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 757,220/female 1,080,699) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | grain, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, swine, poultry, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 66 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 12 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 22
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
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: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $81.9 billion
expenditures: $89.49 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | West Island | name: Lisbon
geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 | adopted 2 April 1976; effective 25 April 1976; revised many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $368.2 billion (2006 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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred J. HOFFMAN Jr.
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: Apartado 43033, 1601-301 Lisboa; PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Joao DE VALLERA
chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 350-5400 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco consulate(s): New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | none | Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) |
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. | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past two decades, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth had been above the EU average for much of the 1990s, but fell back in 2001-06. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-25 average. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The budget deficit surged to an all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005 but was reduced to 4.6% in 2006. The government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness while keeping the budget deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP ceiling. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 46.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 2.802 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 9.626 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 43.69 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
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 Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (since 12 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Anibal CAVACO SILVA elected president; percent of vote - Anibal CAVACO SILVA 50.6%, Manuel ALEGRE 20.7%, Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES 14.3%, Jeronimo DE SOUSA 8.5%, Franciso LOUCA 5.3% |
Exports | $NA | 43,070 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | copra | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | Australia (1999) | Spain 26.5%, Germany 12.9%, France 12%, UK 6.7%, US 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 25.8% services: 66.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Highways | total: 15 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | seizing record amounts of Latin American cocaine destined for Europe; a European gateway for Southwest Asian heroin; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | $NA | 361,300 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | Australia (1999) | Spain 29%, Germany 13.1%, France 8.1%, Italy 5.6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.9% (2006 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metals and metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; rubber and plastic products; ceramics; electronics and communications equipment; rail transportation equipment; aerospace equipment; ship construction and refurbishment; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
total: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.1% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ABEDA, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 6,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | NA | 5.59 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84% other: 74.87% (2005) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) | unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%, other 4.9%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
total population: 77.87 years
male: 74.6 years female: 81.36 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 117 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,022,783 GRT/1,287,951 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 37, carrier 1, chemical tanker 16, container 6, liquefied gas 9, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 10 foreign-owned: 80 (Belgium 9, Denmark 3, Germany 22, Greece 4, Italy 11, Japan 10, Malta 1, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 3, Spain 10, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2, US 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, Malta 3, Panama 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (Marinha Portuguesa; includes Marine Corps), Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa, FAP), National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | NA | Portugal Day (Day of Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa Augusta Baiao de Brito APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo DE SOUSA]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Luis Manuel Goncalves Marques MENDES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or CDU [Jeronimo DE SOUSA] (includes PEV and PCP) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 630 (July 2003 est.) | 10,642,836 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2003 est.) | 0.334% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; lagoon anchorage only | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,786 km
broad gauge: 2,603 km 1.668-m gauge (1,351 km electrified) narrow gauge: 183 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.092 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.701 male(s)/female total population: 0.946 male(s)/female (2007 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: Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities
domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: country code - 351; 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 4.231 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 12.226 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 62 (plus 166 repeaters; includes Azores and Madeira Islands) (1995) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 7.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2006) |