Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) - Solomon Islands (2004)

Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) z Solomon Islands (2004)

	Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006)	Solomon Islands (2004)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 113,183; female 108,816) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 144,157; female 140,769) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,058; female 8,634) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Airports	1 (2006)	33 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (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: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area - comparative	about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Maryland
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.	The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been very effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.
Birth rate	NA	31.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $38 million expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001)
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)	Honiara
Climate	tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline	26 km	5,313 km
Constitution	Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	7 July 1978
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Currency	-	Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	4.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$162.5 million (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)	the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador Robert W. FITTS, is accredited to the Solomon Islands
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Collin David BECK chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925
Disputes - international	none	Australian defense personnel are dispatched at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to restore law and order on the islands and reinforce regional security
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$28 million annually, mainly from Australia (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.	The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. The disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services.
Electricity - consumption	-	29.76 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	-	32 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Environment - current issues	fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Europeans, Cocos Malays	Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999)
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 General Nathaniel WAENA (since 7 July 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
Exports	$NA	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	copra	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners	Australia (2004)	China 25.2%, South Korea 17.6%, Japan 13.4%, Philippines 8.4%, Singapore 5.9%, Thailand 5.9% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	-10% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 30 S, 96 50 E	8 00 S, 159 00 E
Geography - note	islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea
Government - note	-	June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the intervention of Australia to aid in restoring order; parliament approved the request for intervention in July 2003; troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003
Highways	-	total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	$NA	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	Australia (2004)	Australia 29.7%, Singapore 21.9%, Fiji 4.7%, New Zealand 4.7% (2003)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	7 July 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA
Industries	copra products and tourism	fish (tuna), mining, timber
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 22.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	9% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court	Court of Appeal
Labor force	NA	26,840 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)
Languages	Malay (Cocos dialect), English	Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population note: 120 indigenous languages
Legal system	based upon the laws of Australia and local laws	English common law, which is widely disregarded
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 Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held not later than December 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 72.38 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.98 years (2004 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	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references	Southeast Asia	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	none
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force	-
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Nationality	noun: Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Natural hazards	cyclone season is October to April	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Natural resources	fish	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Net migration rate	NA	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU] note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	574 (July 2006 est.)	523,617 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	0% (2006 est.)	2.76% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.)	Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	NA	21 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: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	287 (1992)	6,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	note - analog cellular service available	1,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	NA	0 (1997)
Terrain	flat, low-lying coral atolls	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Total fertility rate	NA	4.19 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2000 est.)	NA

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