Norfolk Island (2002) | Paracel Islands (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (1996) |
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Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | - |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: NA sq km
land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | NA |
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. | The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | - |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
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Capital | Kingston | - |
Climate | subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical |
Coastline | 32 km | 518 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
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 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Disputes - international | none | occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam |
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. | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
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: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | - |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | - |
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 Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) 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 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
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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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 16 30 N, 112 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group |
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% |
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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 | NA | - |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 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 | - |
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 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
- |
Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | occupied by China |
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) | typhoons |
Natural resources | fish | none |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 1,866 (July 2002 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | -0.69% (2002 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Radios | 2,500 (1996) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996) | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: NA male(s)/female
under 15 years: NA male(s)/female 15-64 years: NA male(s)/female 65 years and over: NA male(s)/female total population: NA male(s)/female |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 1,087 (1983) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1983) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) | - |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly low and flat |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |