Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Honduras (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684) 15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003) 65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 119 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
107 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 84 (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:
112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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. | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. |
Birth rate | NA | 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (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) |
Tegucigalpa |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 26 km | 820 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form:
Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | - | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $5.4 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 Frank ALMAGUER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hugo NOE PINO chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $557.8 million (1999) |
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. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 3.232 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 145 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 3.319 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
44.71% hydro: 55.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (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:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) head of government: President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PN) 40%, other 10% |
Exports | $NA | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%, Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
16.2% industry: 31.9% services: 51.9% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | - |
Highways | - | total:
15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 42.1% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $NA | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 11% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 740 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | NA | 2.3 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
15% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 54% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts 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) |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
69.35 years male: 67.51 years female: 71.28 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,515,101 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
902,220 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
72,335 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun:
Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | fish | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Marias FUNES Valladares, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Carlos URBIZO, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 6,406,052
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 2.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.45 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 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:
inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 234,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 14,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 28% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 465 km (navigable by small craft) |