Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) - British Virgin Islands (2007)

Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) z British Virgin Islands (2007)

	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)	British Virgin Islands (2007)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	1 (2006)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke
Area - comparative	about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	about 0.9 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.	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	NA	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
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)	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour 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	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	26 km	80 km
Constitution	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	13 June 2007
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$36.1 million (1997)
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; internal self-governing
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	none
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.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	-	41.85 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	45 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Ethnic groups	Europeans, Cocos Malays	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	the US dollar is used
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 David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor
Exports	$NA	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	copra	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	Australia (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 30 S, 96 50 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	$NA	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	Australia (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	copra products and tourism	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2% (2005)
International organization participation	none	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	NA	12,770 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)
Languages	Malay (Cocos dialect), English	English (official)
Legal system	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws	English law
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)	unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Southeast Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
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
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)
Nationality	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	cyclone season is October to April	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	fish	NEGL
Net migration rate	NA	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	574 (July 2006 est.)	23,552 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	0% (2006 est.)	1.923% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 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: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	287 (1992)	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	note - analog cellular service available	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)
Terrain	flat, low-lying coral atolls	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	NA	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2000 est.)	3.6% (1997)

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