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CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(7 fields)
Internet country code
.nf
Internet users
700
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment: adequate domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station
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) (2005)
◆ ECONOMY(28 fields)
Agriculture - products
Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry
Budget
revenues: $20 million expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00)
Currency (code)
Australian dollar (AUD)
Debt - external
NA
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.
Electricity - consumption
NA kWh
Electricity - production
NA kWh
Exchange rates
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)
Exports
$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00)
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
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
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
Industrial production growth rate
NA
Industries
tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA
Labor force
1,345
Labor force - by occupation
tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10%
Population below poverty line
NA
Unemployment rate
0%
◆ GEOGRAPHY(17 fields)
Area
total: 34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative
about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC
Climate
subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
32 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 m
Environment - current issues
NA
Geographic coordinates
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
Irrigated land
NA
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Location
Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Natural hazards
typhoons (especially May to July)
Natural resources
fish
Terrain
volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains
◆ GOVERNMENT(19 fields)
Administrative divisions
none (territory of Australia)
Capital
Kingston
Constitution
Norfolk Island Act of 1979
Country name
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island
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)
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 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2%
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
Government type
NA
Independence
none (territory of Australia)
International organization participation
UPU
Judicial branch
Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions
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 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)
National holiday
Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)
Political parties and leaders
none
Political pressure groups and leaders
none
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
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.
◆ MILITARY(1 fields)
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of Australia
◆ PEOPLE(18 fields)
Age structure
0-14 years: 20.2% 15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.)
Birth rate
NA
Death rate
NA
Ethnic groups
descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
NA
Infant mortality rate
total: NA male: NA female: NA
Languages
English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
Life expectancy at birth
total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy
NA
Nationality
noun: Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)
Net migration rate
NA
Population
1,828 (July 2005 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.01% (2005 est.)
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 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census)
Sex ratio
NA
Total fertility rate
NA
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(1 fields)
Disputes - international
none
◆ TRANSPORTATION(4 fields)
Airports
1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Highways
total: 80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001)
Ports and harbors
none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade