Norfolk Island (2006) | Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2001) | |
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% (2006 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 (2006) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 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. | The islands were discovered in 1609, but 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 is split between the mostly Europeans on West Island and the Malays on Home Island. |
Birth rate | NA | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million; including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
West Island |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | pleasant, modified by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year; moderate rainfall |
Coastline | 32 km | 2.6 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 |
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 |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $NA | $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 the Environment, Sport, and Territories |
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. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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, Polynesian | Europeans, Cocos Malays |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | 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 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 October 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 (non-resident) William Leonard TAYLOR (since 4 February 1999) 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. (FY91/92) | $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 (2004) | 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 | - | 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 | 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 | two coral atolls thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation |
Highways | - | total:
15 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2001) |
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 (2004) | 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 |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
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 | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
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% (2005) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | English, Malay |
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 (NA seats) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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 islands in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about one-half of the way from Australia to Sri Lanka |
Map references | Oceania | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | NA |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun:
Cocos Islander(s) adjective: Cocos Islander |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | cyclones may occur in the early months of the year |
Natural resources | fish | fish |
Net migration rate | NA | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | none | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,828 (July 2006 est.) | 633 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2006 est.) | -0.21% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; lagoon anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 300 (1992) |
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) | Sunni Muslim 57%, Christian 22%, other 21% (1981 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:
NA domestic: NA international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | NA (1999) |
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) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | flat, low-lying coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | NA | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 0% | - |
Waterways | - | none |