Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Yemen (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333)
15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 46 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
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: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger 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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | NA | 42.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $5.616 billion
expenditures: $5.719 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 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) |
name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 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 | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $5.347 billion (2005 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 Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | none | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) |
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. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported meager growth since 2000. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues increased in 2005 due to higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. The people have grown increasingly upset over the economic situation. In July 2005, a reduction in fuel subsidies sparked riots; over 20 Yemenis were killed and hundreds were injured. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.827 billion kWh (2003 est.) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 3.848 billion kWh (2003 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001) |
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 Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL; Deputy Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI, Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faisal bin SHAMLAN 21.8% |
Exports | $NA | 370,300 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | copra | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | China 36.5%, Chile 19.2%, Thailand 12.5%, Japan 5.4%, South Korea 4.4%, US 4.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 47.2% services: 39.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
Imports | $NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | UAE 14.6%, Saudi Arabia 11.6%, China 9.1%, Kuwait 5%, India 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 11.8% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | NA | 5,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 5.83 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Arabic |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary 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) |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 62.12 years
male: 60.23 years female: 64.11 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 |
Military branches | - | Army (includes Special Forces), Navy (includes Marines), Unified Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $992.2 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none | there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 45.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 3.46% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 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: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 798,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 2 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | NA | 6.58 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 35% (2003 est.) |