Indian Ocean (2004) | Tokelau (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Area | total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 5.5 times the size of the US | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | - | NA |
Budget | - | revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million; including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.) |
Capital | - | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 66,526 km | 101 km |
Constitution | - | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | - | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self-governance, in February 2006, did not produce the two thirds majority vote necessary for changing the current political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | about $4 million annually from New Zealand |
Economy - overview | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Ethnic groups | - | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | - | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Kolouei O'BRIEN (2006); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | - | $0 f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | - | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | - | New Zealand (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | - | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 80 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Imports | - | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | - | New Zealand (2004) |
Independence | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industries | - | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | - | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | - | 440 |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | - | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | - | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has 6 seats, Fakaofo has 7 seats, Atafu has 8 seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2005 (next to be held January 2008) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | - | NA |
Location | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $66.72 million |
National holiday | - | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | - | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules | NEGL |
Net migration rate | - | NA |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | - | 1,392 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: 1 radio station provides service to all islands (2002) |
Religions | - | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | - | NA |
Suffrage | - | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system;
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 0 (2001) |
Terrain | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | - | NA |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |