Norfolk Island (2001) | British Indian Ocean Territory (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
- |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | - |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | - |
Budget | revenues:
$4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
- |
Capital | Kingston | - |
Climate | subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 32 km | 698 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | - |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Anthony J. MESSNER (since 4 August 1997) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Ronald Coane NOBBS (since 23 February 2000) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the Administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: Ronald Coane NOBBS elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $1.5 million (f.o.b., FY91/92) | - |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | - |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | - |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | - |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E |
Geography - note | - | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility |
Highways | total:
80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Imports | $17.9 million (c.i.f., FY91/92) | - |
Imports - commodities | NA | - |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | - |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism | - |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | - |
International organization participation | none | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | 1,395 (1991 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 0% other: 75% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | - |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
- |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 |
National holiday | Pitcairners Arrival Day, 8 June (1856) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
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Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | NA |
Natural resources | fish | coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 1,879 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | -0.71% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 2,500 (1996) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican 39%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 16.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.4%, none 9.2%, unknown 16.9%, other 2.4% (1986) | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate domestic: NA international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia) |
general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,087 (1983) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1983) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |