Statistical information Cocos Islands 2025

Cocos Islands in the World

Cocos Islands - Introduction 2025

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Background: British sea captain William KEELING discovered the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1609, and they were named for their coconut trees in 1622. Some maps began referring to them as the Keeling Islands in 1703. In 1825, Scottish trader John CLUNIES-ROSS was trying to get to Christmas Island but was blown off course and landed on Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The next year, a British trader hired CLUNIES-ROSS's brother to bring slaves and a harem of Malay women to create the first permanent settlement on the island. By the 1830s, the Clunies-Ross family had firmly established themselves as the leaders of the islands, and they ruled Cocos (Keeling) Islands in a feudal style until 1978. The UK annexed the islands in 1857 and administered them from Ceylon after 1878 and from Singapore after 1886. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands hosted a cable relaying station and was attacked by the Germans in World War I. The Japanese similarly attacked the islands in World War II. The UK transferred the islands to Australia in 1955, when they were officially named the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and in 1978, Australia bought all the land held by the Clunies-Ross family, ending their control of the islands. In a referendum in 1984, most islanders voted to integrate with Australia, and Western Australian laws have applied on the islands since 1992.

Cocos Islands - Geography 2025

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Comparative: about 24 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 26 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year

Terrain: flat, low-lying coral atolls

Elevation
Highest point: South Point on South Island 9 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2018 est.)
Forest: 0% (2018 est.)
Other: 100% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: NA

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: cyclone season is October to April

Geography
Note: there are 27 coral islands in the group; apart from North Keeling Island, which lies 30 km north of the main group, the islands form a horseshoe-shaped atoll around a lagoon

Cocos Islands - People 2025

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Population
Total: 593 (2021 est.)
Male: 301
Female: 292
Distribution: only Home Island and West Island are populated

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages: Malay (Cocos dialect) 68.8%, English 22.3%, unspecified 8.9%; note - data represent language spoken at home (2016 est.)
Major-language sample(s): ; Buku Fakta Dunia, sumber yang diperlukan untuk maklumat asas. (Malay); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 75%, Anglican 3.5%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, none 12.9%, unspecified 6.3% (2016 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure