Western Sahara (2005) | Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 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 the size of Colorado | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. From the 1820s to 1978, members of the CLUNIE-ROSS family controlled the islands and the copra produced from local coconuts. Annexed by the UK in 1857, the Cocos Islands were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | NA |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | none | name: West Island
geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 50 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 26 km |
Constitution | - | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | NA |
Debt - external | NA | - |
Dependency status | - | non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Europeans, Cocos Malays |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
Exports | NA | $NA |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | copra |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Australia (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | - | the flag of Australia is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | - |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 12 30 S, 96 50 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
- |
Imports | NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Australia (2006) |
Independence | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | - |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | copra products and tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | - |
International organization participation | none | none |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court |
Labor force | 12,000 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
Legal system | - | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
NA |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force |
National holiday | - | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | cyclone season is October to April |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 596 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | NA | 0% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Muslim | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) |
Sex ratio | NA | - |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | NA |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 287 (1992) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | - |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | flat, low-lying coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | NA |
Unemployment rate | NA | 60% (2000 est.) |