Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Spain (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco: Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous communities; Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
14.62% (male 3,015,851; female 2,835,763) 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 13,701,065; female 13,605,314) 65 years and over: 17.18% (male 2,881,334; female 3,998,668) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 110 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
75 over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 13 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 25 (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:
504,782 sq km land: 499,542 sq km water: 5,240 sq km note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of Oregon |
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. | Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating Civil War (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, it has played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing concerns are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement. |
Birth rate | NA | 9.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$105 billion expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (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) |
Madrid |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast |
Coastline | 26 km | 4,964 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana |
Currency | - | Spanish peseta (ESP); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Spain at a fixed rate of 166.386 Spanish pesetas per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $90 billion (1993 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 Edward L. ROMERO embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | Gibraltar issue with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1995) |
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. | Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the AZNAR administration but remains the highest in the EU at 14%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain in the next few years. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 189.57 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 6.23 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 11.945 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 197.694 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
57.71% hydro: 12.1% nuclear: 28.28% other: 1.91% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (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 JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968 head of government: President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Juan Jose LUCAS (since 28 February 2000) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government elections: the monarch is hereditary; president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president election results: Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44% |
Exports | $NA | $120.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | EU 71% (France 20%, Germany 12%, Italy 9%, Portugal 9%, UK 8%), Latin America 6%, US 5% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $720.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
4% industry: 31% services: 65% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 40 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
346,858 km paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,469 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 25.2% (1990) |
Illicit drugs | - | key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | $NA | $153.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods (1997) |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | EU 68% (France 18%, Germany 16%, Italy 9%, UK 7%, Benelux 8%), US 8%, OPEC 5%, Latin America 4%, Japan 3% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 4.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 56 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 34,530 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo |
Labor force | NA | 17 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 28%, agriculture 8% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,917.8 km border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
30% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 21% forests and woodland: 32% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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) |
bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats - 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); Congress of Deputies - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PP 127, PSOE 61, CiU 8, PNV 6, CC 5, PIL 1; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 44.5%, PSOE 34%, CiU 4.2%, IU 5.4%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1%, BNG 1.3%; seats by party - PP 183, PSOE 125, CiU 15, IU 8, PNV 7, CC 4, BNG 3, other 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
78.93 years male: 75.47 years female: 82.62 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
135 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,208,730 GRT/1,773,378 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 26, chemical tanker 10, container 9, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 3 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6 billion (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
10,551,945 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
8,448,150 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
281,043 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Hispanic Day, 12 October |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun:
Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish | coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA | 0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 km |
Political parties and leaders | none | Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Xose Manuel BEIRAS]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Gaspar LLAMAZARES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; Euskal Herritarok or EH [Herri BATASUNA]; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty or ETA and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group or GRAPO use terrorism to oppose the government; Opus Dei; Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 40,037,995 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.1% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 13.1 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
13,950 km broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,358 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) narrow gauge: 644 km 1.000-m gauge (438 km electrified) (1998) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Roman Catholic 99%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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:
generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons domestic: NA international: 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 17.336 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 8.394 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)
note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,045 km (of minor economic importance) |