Norfolk Island (2005) | Western Sahara (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
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 | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed and is not expected to occur until at least 2002. |
Birth rate | NA | - |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Kingston | none |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 32 km | 1,110 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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | - | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | NA | - |
Debt - external | NA | $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) | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none |
Disputes - international | none | claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991 |
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. | Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 83.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point:
Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | sparse water and lack of arable land |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 10.590 (January 2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996) |
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% |
none |
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 | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
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 |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: 40%-45% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
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 | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total:
6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | NA | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
- |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | 1,345 | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 81% |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
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 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
- |
Literacy | NA | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | - |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun:
Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | fish | phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | NA | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 250,559 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 56,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
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) | Muslim |
Sex ratio | NA | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign has yet to be completed |
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:
sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 0 (1999) |
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 | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | NA | - |
Unemployment rate | 0% | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |