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Exchange Rate Home >> Country Info >> Norfolk Island

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  Norfolk Island   
Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational
Issues
  Introduction Back To Top

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.

  Geography Back To Top

Land boundaries:
0 km

Climate:
subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation

Map references:
Australia/Oceania

Geographic coordinates:
29 02 S, 167 57 E

Natural resources:
fish

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m

Terrain:
volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains

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

Area:
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Location:
Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia

Coastline:
32 km

Area - comparative:
about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC

Irrigated land:
NA

Environment - current issues:
NA

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Natural hazards:
typhoons (especially May to July)

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2005)

  People Back To Top

Total fertility rate:
NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:
NA

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA (2008 est.)

Literacy:
NA

Net migration rate:
NA (2008 est.)

Ethnic groups:
descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian

Population:
2,128 (July 2008 est.)

Education expenditures:
NA

Population growth rate:
0.006% (2008 est.)

Languages:
English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian

Death rate:
NA (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: NA
male: NA
female: NA (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9%
65 years and over: 15.9% (2007 est.)

Birth rate:
NA (2008 est.)

Religions:
Anglican 31.8%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Uniting Church in Australia 10.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.2%, other Christian 5.6%, none 19.9%, unspecified 16.6% (2006 census)

Nationality:
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)

  Government Back To Top

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of Australia)

National holiday:
Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Government type:
NA

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of Australia)

Dependency status:
self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department

International organization participation:
UPU

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 21 March 2007 (next to be held by 28 March 2010)
election results: seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)

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

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

Independence:
none (territory of Australia)

Country name (Goverment):
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island

Political parties and leaders:
none

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)

Constitution:
Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Acting Administrator Owen WALSH (since October 2007)
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 and represents the monarch and Australia

Administrative divisions:
none (territory of Australia)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions

  Economy Back To Top

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Debt - external:
$NA

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$NA

Exchange rates:
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.2059 (2008 est.), 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004)

Labor force:
NA

Exports:
$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92)

Currency (code):
Australian dollar (AUD)

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.

Imports - commodities:
NA

Industries:
tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Imports:
$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90%

Currency code:
AUD

Exports - commodities:
postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2002)

Budget:
revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million (FY99/00)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

  Communications Back To Top

Internet users:
700 (2002 est.)

Telephones - main lines in use:
2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004)

Televisions:
1,200 (1996)

Internet country code:
.nf

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005)

Radios:
2,500 (1996)

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)

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 - 1

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet hosts:
51 (2008)

  Transportation Back To Top

Ports and terminals:
none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways:
total: 80 km
paved: 53 km
unpaved: 27 km (2008)

Airports:
1 (2007)

  Military Back To Top

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Australia

  Transnational Issues Back To Top

Disputes - international:
none

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