foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Australia (1999)
Debt - external:
$NA
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA
Currency:
Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code:
AUD
Exchange rates:
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (2002), 1.9320 (2001),
1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Communications Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Telephones - main lines in use:
287 (1992)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA
Telephone system:
general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication
system
domestic: NA
international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with
Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of
NA type (2002)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000)
Radios:
300 (1992)
Television broadcast stations:
NA
Televisions:
NA
Internet country code:
.cc
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)
Internet users:
NA
Transportation Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 15 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (2003)
Waterways:
none
Ports and harbors:
none; lagoon anchorage only
Merchant marine:
none (2002 est.)
Airports:
1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
Military Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have
a five-person police force
Transnational Issues Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
======================================================================
@Colombia
Introduction Colombia
Background:
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the
collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and
Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian
Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds
from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large
swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the
movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to
overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries
has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging
the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such
as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion
over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert
government control throughout the country, neighboring countries
worry about the violence spilling over their borders.
Geography Colombia
Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama
and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
Ecuador and Panama
Geographic coordinates:
4 00 N, 72 00 W
Map references:
South America
Area:
total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and
Serranilla Bank
water: 100,210 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km,
Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline:
3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate:
tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains,
eastern lowland plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper,
emeralds, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 1.9%
other: 96.14% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.96%
Irrigated land:
8,500 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes;
periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements: