Paracel Islands (2001) | Norfolk Island (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
NA sq km land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | This archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and potentially large oil reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Prattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops captured a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. However, the islands are still claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | - | Kingston |
Climate | tropical | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 518 km | 32 km |
Constitution | - | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | 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) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
Economy - overview | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
Exchange rates | - | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
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 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA |
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 |
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 |
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 | 16 30 N, 112 00 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 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 |
Highways | - | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | - | NA |
Imports - partners | - | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Independence | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA |
International organization participation | - | UPU |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1993) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | - | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | tourism NA, subsistence agriculture NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
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 |
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 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | - | NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | occupied by China | 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) |
Natural hazards | typhoons | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | none | fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2001 est.) |
1,841 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996) |
Sex ratio | - | NA |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite service planned for near future |
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) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly low and flat | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | - | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA |
Waterways | none | - |