Norfolk Island (2006) | Coral Sea Islands (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2006 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | - |
Airports | 1 (2006) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: less than 3 sq km
land: less than 3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 780,000 sq km, with the Willis Islets the most important |
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. | Scattered over more than three-quarters of a million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on the Willis Islets. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs. |
Birth rate | NA | - |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million; including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
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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) |
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Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical |
Coastline | 32 km | 3,095 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory
conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands |
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 | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department |
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 | - |
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. | no economic activity |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | no permanent fresh water resources |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian | - |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | - |
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% |
administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department |
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 (2004) | - |
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 | the flag of Australia is used |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 18 00 S, 152 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 | important nesting area for birds and turtles |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | - |
Imports - commodities | NA | - |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004) | - |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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International organization participation | UPU | - |
Irrigated land | NA | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | 1,345 | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
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Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover) (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 | the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply |
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) |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | - |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
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Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | occasional tropical cyclones |
Natural resources | fish | NEGL |
Net migration rate | NA | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 1,828 (July 2006 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there is a staff of three to four at the meteorological station on Willis Island (July 2007 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2006 est.) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | - |
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) | - |
Sex ratio | NA | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
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 |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | - |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays) |
Total fertility rate | NA | - |
Unemployment rate | 0% | - |