Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2004) | Western Sahara (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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:
266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed and is not expected to occur until at least 2002. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | West Island | none |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,110 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Debt - external | NA | $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) | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none |
Disputes - international | none | claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991 |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $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. | Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 83.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | sparse water and lack of arable land |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.9354 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 10.590 (January 2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Evan WILLIAMS (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
none |
Exports | NA | $NA |
Exports - commodities | copra | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | Australia | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: 40%-45% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 15 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003) |
total:
6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | copra products and tourism | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
- |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | NA% |
International organization participation | none | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | - |
Labor force | NA | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 81% |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held NA |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
- |
Literacy | - | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | - |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun:
Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | fish | phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 629 (July 2004 est.) | 250,559 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.002% (2004 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; lagoon anchorage only | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 56,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Muslim |
Suffrage | NA | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign has yet to be completed |
Telephone system | general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61-891; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type (2002) |
general assessment:
sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |