Norfolk Island (2005) | Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
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 | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | about 24 times the size of The Mall in 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. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | NA |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Kingston | West Island |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year |
Coastline | 32 km | 26 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1953) |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Death rate | NA | NA |
Debt - external | NA | - |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | 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. | 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 - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Europeans, Cocos Malays |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
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 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Evan WILLIAMS (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | copra |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Australia |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 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 | the flag of Australia is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 12 30 S, 96 50 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 | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 15 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
- |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA |
Imports - commodities | NA | foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Australia |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | - |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | copra products and tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | - |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court |
Labor force | 1,345 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
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 | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws |
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 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | cyclone season is October to April |
Natural resources | fish | fish |
Net migration rate | NA | NA |
Political parties and leaders | none | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 628 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Port Refuge |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) |
Sex ratio | NA | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61-891; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 287 (1992) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | note - analog cellular service available |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | NA |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | flat, low-lying coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | NA | NA |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 60% (2000 est.) |