| Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands etymology: the name refers to the abundant coconut trees on the islands and to English Captain William KEELING, the first European to sight the islands in 1609 |
| Dependency status | non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities & Regional Development |
| Government type | non-self-governing overseas territory of Australia |
| Capital | name: West Island geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 50 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) |
| Independence | none (territory of Australia) |
| National holiday | Australia Day (commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet of Australian settlers), 26 January (1788) |
| Constitution | history: 23 November 1955 (Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955) amendments: amended many times, last in 2020 |
| Legal system | common law based on the Australian model |
| Citizenship | see Australia |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia General David HURLEY (since 1 July 2019) head of government: Administrator Natasha GRIGGS (since 5 October 2017) cabinet: NA elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Australian prime minister; administrator appointed by the governor general for a 2-year term and represents the monarch and Australia |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms with half the membership renewed every 2 years) elections: last held in October 2017 (next to be held on 31 October 2019) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 5, women 2, percent of women 28.6% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: under the terms of the Territorial Law Reform Act 1992, Western Australia provides court services as needed for the island including the Supreme Court and subordinate courts (District Court, Magistrate Court, Family Court, Children's Court, and Coroners' Court) |
| Political parties and leaders | none |
| International organization participation | none |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | embassy: none (territory of Australia) |
| Flag description | the flag of Australia is used |
| National anthem | note: as a territory of Australia, "Advance Australia Fair" remains official as the national anthem, while "God Save the Queen" serves as the royal anthem (see Australia) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
