Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Western Sahara (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 9 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | NA | NA |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
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) |
none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,110 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | NA |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
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) | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none |
Disputes - international | none | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 79.05 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 85 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | sparse water and lack of arable land |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002) |
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 |
none |
Exports | $NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | - |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | copra products and tourism | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | none | none |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | - |
Labor force | NA | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | - |
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) |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | NA | NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | - |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | fish | phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | NA | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | NA |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Muslim |
Sex ratio | - | NA |
Suffrage | NA | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | NA | NA |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |