第 18 页

Internet country code:

.aw

Internet hosts:

16,914 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

NA

Internet users:

24,000 (2005)

Transportation Aruba

Airports:

1 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 800 km

Ports and terminals:

Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Military Aruba

Military branches:

no regular indigenous military forces; the Netherlands maintains a detachment of marines, a frigate, and an amphibious combat detachment in the neighboring Netherlands Antilles (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 24,585

females age 16-49: 25,742 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 20,173

females age 16-49: 21,062 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

males age 16-49: 705

females age 16-49: 719 (2008 est.)

Military - note:

defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Transnational Issues Aruba

Disputes - international:

none

Illicit drugs:

transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively high percentage of population consumes cocaine

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Introduction Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Background:

These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine reserve.

Geography Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Location:

Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, midway between northwestern Australia and Timor island

Geographic coordinates:

12 14 S, 123 05 E

Map references:

Southeast Asia

Area:

total: 5 sq km

land: 5 sq km

water: 0 sq km

note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island

Area - comparative:

about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

74.1 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 12 nm

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:

tropical

Terrain:

low with sand and coral

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources:

fish

Land use:

arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

other: 100% (all grass and sand) (2005)

Irrigated land:

0 sq km

Natural hazards:

surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards

Environment - current issues:

NA

Geography - note:

Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983

People Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Population:

no indigenous inhabitants

note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island

People - note:

the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote Island has become an ongoing problem

Government Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Country name:

conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands

conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Dependency status:

territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Attorney-General's Department

Legal system:

the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none (territory of Australia)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

none (territory of Australia)

Flag description:

the flag of Australia is used

Economy Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Economy - overview:

no economic activity

Transportation Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Ports and terminals:

none; offshore anchorage only

Military Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Military - note:

defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force

Transnational Issues Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Disputes - international:

none

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Atlantic Ocean

Introduction Atlantic Ocean

Background:

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.

Geography Atlantic Ocean

Location:

body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere

Geographic coordinates:

0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references:

Political Map of the World

Area:

total: 76.762 million sq km

note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Area - comparative:

slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US

Coastline:

111,866 km

Climate:

tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November

Terrain:

surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m

highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources:

oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones

Natural hazards:

icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)

Environment - current issues:

endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea

Geography - note:

major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean

Economy Atlantic Ocean

Economy - overview:

The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

Transportation Atlantic Ocean

Ports and terminals:

Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)

Transportation - note:

Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US

Transnational Issues Atlantic Ocean

Disputes - international:

some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Australia

Introduction Australia

Background:

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

Geography Australia

Location:

Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates:

27 00 S, 133 00 E

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 7,686,850 sq km

land: 7,617,930 sq km

water: 68,920 sq km

note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

25,760 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Terrain:

mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m

highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

Natural resources:

bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Land use:

arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)

permanent crops: 0.04%

other: 93.81% (2005)

Irrigated land:

25,450 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

398 cu km (1995)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):

total: 24.06 cu km/yr (15%/10%/75%)

per capita: 1,193 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

Environment - current issues:

soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world

People Australia

Population:

20,600,856 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 19.1% (male 2,014,230/female 1,920,604)

15-64 years: 67.5% (male 7,005,588/female 6,895,817)

65 years and over: 13.4% (male 1,226,432/female 1,538,185) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 37.4 years

male: 36.6 years

female: 38.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.801% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

11.9 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.62 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

3.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 4.89 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 80.73 years

male: 77.86 years

female: 83.75 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.76 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: