Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 123 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Aracinovo, Bac, Belcista, Berovo, Bistrica, Bitola, Blatec, Bogdanci, Bogomila, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Cair (Skopje), Capari, Caska, Cegrane, Centar (Skopje), Centar Zupa, Cesinovo, Cucer-Sandevo, Debar, Delcevo, Delogozdi, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dobrusevo, Dolna Banjica, Dolneni, Dorce Petrov (Skopje), Drugovo, Dzepciste, Gazi Baba (Skopje), Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Izvor, Jegunovce, Kamenjane, Karbinci, Karpos (Skopje), Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kisela Voda (Skopje), Klecevce, Kocani, Konce, Kondovo, Konopiste, Kosel, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kuklis, Kukurecani, Kumanovo, Labunista, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Lukovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovi Anovi, Meseista, Miravci, Mogila, Murtino, Negotino, Negotino-Polosko, Novaci, Novo Selo, Oblesevo, Ohrid, Orasac, Orizari, Oslomej, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Podares, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Rostusa, Samokov, Saraj, Sipkovica, Sopiste, Sopotnica, Srbinovo, Star Dojran, Staravina, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Suto Orizari (Skopje), Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Topolcani, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Velesta, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vitoliste, Vranestica, Vrapciste, Vratnica, Vrutok, Zajas, Zelenikovo, Zeleno, Zitose, Zletovo, Zrnovci
note: the seven municipalities followed by Skopje in parentheses collectively constitute "greater Skopje" |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.4% (male 239,638; female 221,446)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 694,368; female 686,450) 65 years and over: 10.4% (male 94,214; female 118,684) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, millet, cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus, vegetables; beef, pork, poultry, mutton |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 17 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
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: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Vermont |
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. | International recognition of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (F.Y.R.O.M.) independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, despite continued disagreement over F.Y.R.O.M.'s use of "Macedonia." F.Y.R.O.M.'s large Albanian minority, an ethnic Albanian armed insurgency in F.Y.R.O.M. in 2001, and the status of neighboring Kosovo continue to be sources of ethnic tension. |
Birth rate | NA | 13.35 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $850 million
expenditures: $950 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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) |
Skopje |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | warm, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 26 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
note: the Macedonian Parliament approved November 2001 a series of new constitutional amendments, strengthening minority rights |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
conventional short form: none local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija abbreviation: F.Y.R.O.M. |
Currency | - | Macedonian denar (MKD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.3 billion (2001 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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence Edward BUTLER
embassy: bul. Ilinden bb, 1000 Skopje mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] (02) 116-180 FAX: [389] (02) 117-103 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Nikola DIMITROV
chancery: Suite 302, 1101 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3063 FAX: [1] (202) 337-3093 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | dispute with Greece over country's name persists; 2001 FYROM-Yugoslavia boundary delimitation agreement, which adjusts former republic boundaries, was signed and ratified and awaits demarcation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute legitimacy of the agreement, which cedes small tracts of Kosovo lands to FYROM |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $150 million (2001 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. | At independence in November 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on Yugoslavia, one of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank 4.6% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth recovered moderately in 2002 but unemployment at one-third of the workforce remained a critical problem. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 5.992 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 75 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 6.395 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 18% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | air pollution from metallurgical plants |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Macedonian 66.6%, Albanian 22.7%, Turkish 4%, Roma 2.2%, Serb 2.1%, other 2.4% (1994) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 64.757 (January 2001), 65.904 (2000), 56.902 (1999), 54.462 (1998), 50.004 (1997) |
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 Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 1 November 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO-DPMNE, PDP, and DPA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister elected by the Assembly; election last held NA October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2%; Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected prime minister by Parliament with 72% of the vote |
Exports | $NA | $1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) 23.1%, Germany 20.6%, Greece 8.8%, Italy 8.6%, US 7.7% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 11%
industry: 31% services: 58% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 41 50 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe |
Highways | - | total: 8,684 km
paved: 5,540 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,144 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; while money laundering is a problem on a local level due to organized crime activities, the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $NA | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; food products |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Germany 12.6%, Greece 10.9%, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) 9.3%, Russia 8.3%, Slovenia 7.0% (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 8 September 1991 referendum by registered voters endorsing independence (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | -5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel, textiles, wood products, tobacco, food processing, buses |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
12.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ACCT, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 550 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - Parliament appoints the judges |
Labor force | NA | 1.1 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia and Montenegro 221 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 23.59%
permanent crops: 1.85% other: 74.56% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3% |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
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 Assembly or Sobranje (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that a party gains from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Together for Macedonia coalition 60, VMRO-DPMNE 33, Democratic Integrative Union 16, Democratic Party of Albanians 7, Party for Democratic Prosperity 2, National Democratic Party 1, Socialist Party of Macedonia 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 74.26 years
male: 72.01 years female: 76.68 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army (ARM), Air and Air Defense Forces, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $200 million (FY01/02 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6% (FY01/02 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 551,523 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 444,575 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 17,905 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day and Ilinden |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | fish | chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA | -1.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | none | Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president]; Democratic Integrative Union [leader NA]; Democratic Party of Albanians or DPA [Arben XHAFERI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Ljubcho GEORGIEVSKI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO [Boris STOJMANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto GUSTERVO]; Liberal Party [leader NA]; National Democratic Party or MPDK [Kastriot HAXHISEXHA]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP [Imeri IMERI, president]; Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM (former Communist Party) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president]; Together for Macedonia coalition (including the Social Democrats) [leader NA]; Union of Romanies of Macedonia or SRM [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 2,054,800
note: a Framework Agreement ratified by Macedonia on 16 November 2001 calls for a new census in 2002 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 24% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 410,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) note: a 56-km extension of the Kumanovo-Beljakovce line to the Bulgarian border at Gyueshevo is under construction (2001) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Macedonian Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 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: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 408,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 12,362 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 35% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | note: lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders |