Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Norway (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
19.99% (male 462,673; female 437,514) 15-64 years: 64.91% (male 1,482,346; female 1,440,832) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 282,307; female 397,768) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | barley, other grains, potatoes; beef, milk; fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 103 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
67 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 28 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
36 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 31 (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:
324,220 sq km land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
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. | Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. |
Birth rate | NA | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$71.7 billion expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 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) |
Oslo |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers causing glaciers to grow; rainy year-round on west coast |
Coastline | 26 km | 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km) |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 17 May 1814, modified in 1884 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
Currency | - | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) |
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 Robin Chandler DUKE embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50 FAX: [47] (22) 43 07 77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Knut VOLLEBAEK chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) |
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. | The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared to the meager 0.8% of 1999, but may fall back in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatization in 2000, even proposing the sale of up to one-third of the 100% state-owned oil company Statoil. Despite their high per capita income and generous welfare benefits, Norwegians worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $43 billion. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 110.795 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 8.28 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 6.467 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 121.084 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0.63% hydro: 99.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0.26% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Norwegian Sea 0 m highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami 20,000 |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (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:
King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS, son of the monarch (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG (since 17 March 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the largest party or leader of a coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament |
Exports | $NA | $59.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | EU 73% (UK 17%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 10%, Sweden 9%), US 5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $124.1 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
2% industry: 25% services: 73% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 62 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway is the only NATO member having a land boundary with Russia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
91,180 km paved: 67,838 km (including 109 km of expressways) unpaved: 23,342 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
4.1% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
Imports | $NA | $35.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | EU 66% (Sweden 15%, Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%), US 10%, Japan (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved; 26 October 1905 Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
3.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.9% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 970 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | NA | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,515 km border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 27% other: 70% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory 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) |
modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 1997 (next to be held 10 September 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 35%, Center Party 7.9%, Conservative Party 14.3%, Christian People's Party 13.7%, Socialist Left Party 6%, Progress Party 15.3%, Liberal Party 4.4%, other parties 1.6%; seats by party - Labor Party 65, Center Party 11, Conservative Party 23, Christian People's Party 25, Socialist Left Party 9, Progress Party 25, Liberal Party 6, other parties 1 note: for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
78.79 years male: 75.87 years female: 81.92 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
10 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,667,370 GRT/32,100,208 DWT ships by type: bulk 89, cargo 139, chemical tanker 114, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 37, container 15, liquefied gas 84, passenger 10, petroleum tanker 151, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 22, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 38 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1, Sweden 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3.113 billion (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,101,384 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
913,534 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
27,341 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - 17 May 1814 is the date of independence from Sweden, 7 June 1905 is the date Norway declared the union with Sweden was dissolved |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun:
Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | rockslides, avalanches |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | refined petroleum products 53 km |
Political parties and leaders | none | Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Kiell Magne BONDEVIK]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 4,503,440 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.03 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
4,012 km standard gauge: 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,530 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1998) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe domestic: Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed wire systems international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 2.735 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 2,080,408 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels |