Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Iran (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 30 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Janubi, Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Shemali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 9,465,475/female 8,973,828)
15-64 years: 68% (male 23,556,970/female 22,701,065) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 1,637,512/female 1,683,010) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 305 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 127
over 3,047 m: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 32 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 178
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 129 under 914 m: 39 (2004 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: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. | Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction have floundered as conservative politicians have prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and consolidated their control over the government. |
Birth rate | NA | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $43.34 billion
expenditures: $47.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (2004 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) |
Tehran |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast |
Coastline | 26 km | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
conventional short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran local short form: Iran former: Persia |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $13.4 billion (2004 est.) |
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) | none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073 |
Disputes - international | none | Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $408 million (2002 est.) |
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. | Iran's economy is marked by a bloated, inefficient state sector, over reliance on the oil sector, and statist policies that create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically small-scale - workshops, farming, and services. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI, with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 119.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 129 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | rials per US dollar - 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002), 1,753.6 (2001), 1,764.4 (2000)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002 |
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: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005) First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-Yazdi (since 26 August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%, Ali Akbar Hashemi RAFSANJANI 36%; note - 2% of ballots spoiled |
Exports | $NA | 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Japan 18.4%, China 9.7%, Italy 6%, South Africa 5.8%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Turkey 4.4%, Netherlands 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 21 March - 20 March |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 40.9% services: 48.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 6.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport |
Heliports | - | 13 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 167,157 km
paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways) unpaved: 73,048 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and according to official Iranian statistics there are at least two million drug users in the country; lax anti-money-laundering regulations |
Imports | $NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Germany 12.8%, France 8.3%, Italy 7.7%, China 7.2%, UAE 7.2%, South Korea 6.1%, Russia 5.4% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.5% excluding oil (2004 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 41.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 15.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | none | CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Irrigated land | NA | 75,620 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court |
Labor force | NA | 23 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,440 km
border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 8.72%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 89.89% (2001) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
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 Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 43, religious minorities 5, and 2 seats unaccounted for |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 69.96 years
male: 68.58 years female: 71.4 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,715,242 GRT/8,240,069 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 49, chemical tanker 4, container 14, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army) Law Enforcement Forces: (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4.3 billion (2003 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include Revolution Day, 11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year's Day), 21 March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
Net migration rate | NA | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad front, which includes political parties as well as less formal pressure groups and organizations, achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF); Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity Party; Islamic Labor Party; Mardom Salari; Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO); and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004; a new apparently conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Organization for Strengthening Unity; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 40% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.86% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Assaluyeh, Bushehr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 7,203 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 7,109 km 1.435-m gauge (189 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA | 15 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: inadequate but currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches international: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 14,571,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 3,376,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 11.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004) |