Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Australia (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.64% (male 2,045,892; female 1,948,949) 15-64 years: 66.86% (male 6,538,096; female 6,405,014) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 1,059,107; female 1,360,536) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 411 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
271 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 118 914 to 1,523 m: 122 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 11 (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:
7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states 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. | Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to an independent republic, was defeated in 1999. |
Birth rate | NA | 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$94 billion expenditures: $103 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: West Island
geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 55 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Canberra |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
Coastline | 26 km | 25,760 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $220.6 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | non-self governing 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 Edward W. GNEHM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Sydney consulate(s): Melbourne and Perth |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael THAWLEY chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98) |
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. | Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate. Growth in 2001 will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 178.306 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 191.727 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
89.93% hydro: 8.36% nuclear: 0% other: 1.71% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) 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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rev. Peter HOLLINGSWORTH (since 29 June 2001) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
Exports | $NA | $69 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Japan 19%, EU 14%, ASEAN 12%, US 9%, South Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $445.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
3% industry: 26% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 27 00 S, 133 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer |
Highways | - | total:
913,000 km paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | $NA | $77 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 13% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 1.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 264 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 21,070 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) |
Labor force | NA | 9.5 million (December 1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 54% forests and woodland: 19% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | English, native languages |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) |
bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (148 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001); House of Representatives - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 29, Australian Democratic Party 9, Green Party 1, One Nation Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 80, Australian Labor Party 67, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
79.87 years male: 77.02 years female: 82.87 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,558,371 GRT/2,038,776 DWT ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.9 billion (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.9% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,990,107 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
4,303,966 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
138,971 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun:
Australian(s) adjective: Australian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts |
Natural resources | fish | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
Net migration rate | NA | 4.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km |
Political parties and leaders | none | Australian Democratic Party [Meg LEES]; Australian Labor Party [Kim BEAZLEY]; Green Party [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group) |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 19,357,594 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.99% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 25.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | NA | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 9.58 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 6.4 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 104 (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.77 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 6.4% (2000) |
Waterways | - | 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) |