Norfolk Island (2008) | Akrotiri (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% (2007 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | - |
Airports | 1 (2007) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.7 times the size of 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. | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. |
Birth rate | NA | - |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 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) |
name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
Coastline | 32 km | 56.3 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005 | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
Death rate | NA | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department | a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | 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. | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
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Environment - current issues | NA | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian | - |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | Cypriot pounds per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) 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: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
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 (2006) | - |
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 the UK is used |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 34 37 N, 32 58 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 | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | - |
Imports - commodities | NA | - |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) | - |
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 | - |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | NA | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
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Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
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Languages | English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | English, Greek |
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 Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus |
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; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: 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 | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit |
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) | - |
Natural resources | fish | - |
Net migration rate | NA | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 2,114 (July 2007 est.) | approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK Based Contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents |
Population growth rate | 0.006% (2007 est.) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
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 15.2%, 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 and New Zealand; 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; note - proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum (2002) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus 2 repeaters that air Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | - |
Total fertility rate | NA | - |