Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)

Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)

	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts	-
Airports	1 (2006)	1 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
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: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
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.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	NA	-
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	-
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)	-
Climate	tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	26 km	698 km
Constitution	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	-
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	-
Dependency status	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001 the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1965 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest island in the chain;
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.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The country makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs	NA
Ethnic groups	Europeans, Cocos Malays	-
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	-
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) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$NA	-
Exports - commodities	copra	-
Exports - partners	Australia (2004)	-
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	-
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
Geographic coordinates	12 30 S, 96 50 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Imports	$NA	-
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs	-
Imports - partners	Australia (2004)	-
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	-
Industries	copra products and tourism	-
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	-
International organization participation	none	-
Irrigated land	NA	0 sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court	-
Labor force	NA	-
Labor force - by occupation	note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Malay (Cocos dialect), English	-
Legal system	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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)	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	-
Literacy	NA	-
Location	Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Southeast Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	-
Nationality	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander	-
Natural hazards	cyclone season is October to April	NA
Natural resources	fish	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	NA	-
Political parties and leaders	none	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	574 (July 2006 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2006 est.)
Population growth rate	0% (2006 est.)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)	-
Suffrage	NA	-
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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	287 (1992)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	note - analog cellular service available	-
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (1997)
Terrain	flat, low-lying coral atolls	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	NA	-
Unemployment rate	60% (2000 est.)	-

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