Guernsey (2006) | Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts |
Airports | 2 (one on Alderney) (2006) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total: 14 sq km
land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. | There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. From the 1820s to 1978, members of the CLUNIE-ROSS family controlled the islands and the copra produced from local coconuts. Annexed by the UK in 1857, the Cocos Islands 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. |
Birth rate | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: West Island
geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 50 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year |
Coastline | 50 km | 26 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Death rate | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | Europeans, Cocos Malays |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
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 |
Exports | $NA | $NA |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | copra |
Exports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) | Australia (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | the flag of Australia is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
- |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 12 30 S, 96 50 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Imports | $NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) | Australia (2006) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, banking | copra products and tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.9% (2004 est.) | - |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court |
Labor force | 32,290 (2001) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
Legal system | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws |
Legislative branch | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
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: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 years (2006 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
NA |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
Natural hazards | NA | cyclone season is October to April |
Natural resources | cropland | fish |
Net migration rate | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 65,409 (July 2006 est.) | 596 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2006 est.) | 0% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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 (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,100 (2004) | 287 (1992) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,800 (2004) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | flat, low-lying coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 60% (2000 est.) |