Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Thailand (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.9% (male 7,988,529/female 7,633,405)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 22,195,625/female 22,731,767) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 2,251,112/female 2,643,933) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 109 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 65
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 44
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 28 (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: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces. |
Birth rate | NA | 15.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $30.86 billion
expenditures: $31.94 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 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) |
Bangkok |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid |
Coastline | 26 km | 3,219 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $50.59 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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-2990, 205-4131 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: KASIT Piromya
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007-3681 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of their boundary in 2005; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claims Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; ethnic Karens from Burma flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops resulting in Thailand sheltering about 118,000 Burmese refugees in 2004; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam construction on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $72 million (2002) |
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. | Thailand has a well developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and welcomes foreign investment. Thailand has fully recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002-04. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. The highly popular government's expansionist policy, including major support of village economic development, has raised concerns about fiscal discipline and the health of financial institutions. Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with the US. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took 8,500 lives in Thailand and caused massive destruction of property in the southern provinces of Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 106.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 188 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 600 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 118.9 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | baht per US dollar - 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002), 44.432 (2001), 40.112 (2000) |
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 PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946)
head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since 9 February 2001) and Deputy Prime Ministers CHITCHAI Wannasathi (since 11 March 2005), PHINIT Charusombat (since 6 October 2004), SOMKHIT Chatusiphithak (since 11 March 2005), SURAKIAT Sathianthai (since 11 March 2005); SURIYA Chungrungruankit (since 3 August 2005), SUWAT Liptapanlop (since 3 August 2005), WISANU Kruangam (since 8 November 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister is designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following national elections for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the king |
Exports | $NA | NA |
Exports - commodities | copra | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | US 15.9%, Japan 13.9%, China 7.3%, Singapore 7.2%, Malaysia 5.4%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 9%
industry: 44.3% services: 46.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 6.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
Heliports | - | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 57,403 km
paved: 56,542 km unpaved: 861 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine |
Imports | $NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Japan 23.6%, China 8.6%, US 7.6%, Malaysia 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%, Taiwan 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 8.5% (2004 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry, electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, world's second-largest tungsten producer, and third-largest tin producer |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 20.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | none | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | NA | 36.43 million (November 2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 49%, industry 14%, services 37% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 29.36%
permanent crops: 6.46% other: 64.18% (2001) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; 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 National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held by March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 6 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TRT 376, DP 97, TNP 25, PP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 71.95 years
male: 69.65 years female: 74.37 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2002) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 386 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,038,597 GRT/3,104,712 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 57, cargo 142, chemical tanker 12, combination ore/oil 1, container 21, liquefied gas 25, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 89, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 55 (Indonesia 1, Japan 3, Norway 45, Singapore 6) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.775 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (2003) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
Natural resources | fish | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [ABHISIT Wetchachiwa]; People's Party or PP (Mahachon Party) [ANEK Laothamatas]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BARNHARN SILPA-ARCHA]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 65,444,371
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 10% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 0.87% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Prachuap Port, Si Racha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: high quality system, especially in urban areas like Bangkok; WTO requirement for privatization of telecom sector is planned to be complete by 2006
domestic: fixed line system provided by both a government owned and commercial provider; wireless service expanding rapidly and outpacing fixed lines international: country code - 66; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); landing country for APCN submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 6,617,400 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 26.5 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.88 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (November 2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2003) |