Tokelau (2004) | French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats | - |
Airports | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 est.) | none |
Area | total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Area - comparative | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | - |
Budget | revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
- |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center | - |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | antarctic |
Coastline | 101 km | 1,232 km |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | - |
Debt - external | $0 | - |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand | overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US |
Economic aid - recipient | from New Zealand about $4 million annually | - |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | NA |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian | - |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
- |
Exports | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) | - |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | - |
Exports - partners | New Zealand (2000) | - |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand is used | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | - |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 43 00 S, 67 00 E |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level | islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
- |
Imports | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) | - |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | - |
Imports - partners | New Zealand (2000) | - |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | - |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
- |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | - |
International organization participation | UNESCO (associate), UPU | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | - |
Labor force | NA | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | - |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono | - |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
- |
Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land" |
Map references | Oceania | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands) |
Merchant marine | none | total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,092,387 GRT/5,056,658 DWT
by type: bulk 4, cargo 2, chemical tanker 19, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 2, France 49, Japan 4, Monaco 5, Norway 5, Sweden 5 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | defense is the responsibility of France |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | - |
Nationality | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
- |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes |
Natural resources | NEGL | fish, crayfish |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.)
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2004 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
- |
Religions | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
- |
Sex ratio | NA | - |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
- |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300 (2002) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | - |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | volcanic |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | - |
Unemployment rate | NA | - |