Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands

COCOS-(KEELING)-ISLANDS

Information about travelling to Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands

Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands is located in Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka

Facts about Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands
Population596 (July 2007 est.)
CapitalWest Island
Time zoneUTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Location Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka

General info about Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands
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.
Languages spoken
Malay (Cocos dialect), English
Ethnic division
Europeans, Cocos Malays
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate
NA
Climate
tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year
Resources
fish
Economy
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.
Environment
fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs

Cities in Cocos-(Keeling)-Islands




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