Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Uzbekistan (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qaraqalpog'iston Respublikasi* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 4,617,110; female 4,457,065)
15-64 years: 59.8% (male 7,567,510; female 7,726,753) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 482,137; female 712,866) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 267 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 257
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 222 (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: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
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. | Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, a nonconvertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. |
Birth rate | NA | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 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) |
Tashkent (Toshkent) |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
Coastline | 26 km | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan local long form: Ozbekiston Respublikasi local short form: Ozbekiston former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.98 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $5.1 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 John Edward HERBST
embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115 mailing address: use embassy street address; US Embassy Tashkent, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7110 telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Shavkat HAMRAKULOV
chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | dispute over access to Sokh and other Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan mars progress on international boundary delimitation; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources; Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan contend with the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking Aral Sea; the border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is mined in certain sections, continuing to cause civilian casualties |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | approximately $150 million from the US (2001) |
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. | Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. The state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy and has so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions. Uzbekistan has responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by emphasizing import substitute industrialization and by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the economy's stagnation. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation, and a poor business climate led to disappointing growth in 2001. However, in December 2001 the government voiced a renewed interest in economic reform, seeking advice from the IMF and other financial institutions. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 41.89 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 4.1 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 44.075 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 687.0 (January 2002), 325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95 (December 1998), 75.8 (September 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 Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)
head of government: Prime Minister Otkir SULTONOV (since 21 December 1995) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional ammendment in 2002); election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz JALALOV 4.2% |
Exports | $NA | $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra | cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine 4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $62 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 33%
industry: 24% services: 43% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
Highways | - | total: 81,600 km
paved: 71,237 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1993) (1993) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and small amounts of opium poppy for domestic consumption; poppy cultivation almost wiped out by government crop eradication program; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | $NA | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
71.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 23% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 42 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 42,810 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) |
Labor force | NA | 11.9 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) (1995) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 6,221 km
border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 10.8%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 88.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
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 Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - 2002 ammendment to the constitution creates a second chamber to be established via elections in 2004
elections: last held 5 December and 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 48, Self-Sacrificers Party 34, Fatherland Progress Party 20, Adolat Social Democratic Party 11, MTP 10, citizens' groups 16, local government 110, vacant 1 note: not all seats in the last Supreme Assembly election were contested; all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 63.9 years
male: 60.38 years female: 67.6 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (yearend 1996) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (doubly landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal security and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $200 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,747,221 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 5,478,766 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 274,602 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | NA |
Natural resources | fish | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
Net migration rate | NA | -1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Abdulkhafiz JALOLOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary]; note - Fatherland Progress Party merged with Self-Sacrificers Party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim POLAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumannob POLAT, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman]; Ezgulik [Vasilia Inoyatova] |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 25,563,441 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 1.62% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Termiz (Amu Darya) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) |
Radios | - | 10.8 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 3,656 km
broad gauge: 3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization
domestic: the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System) international: linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 1.98 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 130,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
Total fertility rate | NA | 3.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,100 km (1990) |