Norfolk Island (2005) | Western Sahara (2007) | |
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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
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); fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 9 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
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 | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 |
Death rate | NA | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria |
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 depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 79.05 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 85 million kWh (2005) |
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 - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002) |
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 bbl/day |
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 (2006) |
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 - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
GDP - per capita | 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 | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
- |
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 bbl/day |
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 (2006) |
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 |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | 1,345 | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
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 |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | NA | 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 | - |
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: Sahrawi, 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.) | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | NA |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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 | NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet 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: country code - 212; 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 | NA |
Unemployment rate | 0% | NA% |