Coral Sea Islands (CR)

• Introduction
• Geography
• People
• Government
• Economy
• Communications
• Transportation
• Military
• Transnational Issues

Introduction

Background	Scattered over more than three-quarters of a million square kilometers of ocean, the Coral Sea Islands were declared a territory of Australia in 1969. They are uninhabited except for a small meteorological staff on the Willis Islets. Automated weather stations, beacons, and a lighthouse occupy many other islands and reefs.

Geography

Location	Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia
Geographic coordinates	18 00 S, 152 00 E
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: less than 3 sq km land: less than 3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 780,000 sq km, with the Willis Islets the most important
Area - comparative	NA
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	3,095 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical
Terrain	sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m
Natural resources	NEGL
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover) (2005)
Irrigated land	0 sq km
Natural hazards	occasional tropical cyclones
Environment - current issues	no permanent fresh water resources
Geography - note	important nesting area for birds and turtles

People

Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there is a staff of three to four at the meteorological station on Willis Island (July 2007 est.)

Government

Country name	conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
Legal system	the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply
Executive branch	administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department 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

Economy - overview	no economic activity

Communications

Communications - note	there are automatic weather stations on many of the isles and reefs relaying data to the mainland

Transportation

Ports and terminals	none; offshore anchorage only

Military

Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international	none

This page was last updated on 20 March, 2008