Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Australian Indian Ocean Territory External territory of Australia
Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands Pulu Kokos (Keeling) (Cocos Islands Malay) Wilayah Kepulauan Cocos (Keeling) (Malay)
Flag
Motto:  "Maju Pulu Kita" (Cocos Islands Malay) (English: "Onward our island")
Anthem: "Advance Australia Fair"
Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (circled in red)
Sovereign state	Australia
Annexed by the United Kingdom	1857
Transferred from Singapore to Australia	23 November 1955
Capital	West Island 12°11′13″S 96°49′42″E / 12.18694°S 96.82833°E / -12.18694; 96.82833
Largest village	Bantam (Home Island)
Official languages	None
Spoken languages	Malay English[note 1]
Government	Directly administered dependency
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	David Hurley
• Administrator	Farzian Zainal[1]
• Shire President	Aindil Minkom
Parliament of Australia
• Senate	represented by Northern Territory senators
• House of Representatives	included in the Division of Lingiari
Area
• Total	14 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
• Water (%)	0
Highest elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population
• 2021 census	593[2] (not ranked)
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	US$11,012,550[3] (not ranked)
• Per capita	$18,570.91 (not ranked)
Currency	Australian dollar (AU$) (AUD)
Time zone	UTC+06:30
Driving side	left[4]
Calling code	+61 891
Postcode	WA 6799
ISO 3166 code	CC
Internet TLD	.cc

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Cocos Islands Malay: Pulu Kokos ), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (/ˈkoʊkəs/;^[5][6] Cocos Islands Malay: Pulu Kokos ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and relatively close to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The territory's dual name (official since the islands' incorporation into Australia in 1955) reflects that the islands have historically been known as either the Cocos Islands or the Keeling Islands.

The territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, of which only two – West Island and Home Island – are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocos Malays, who mostly practise Sunni Islam and speak a dialect of Malay as their first language.^[7] The territory is administered by the Australian federal government's Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts as an Australian external territory and together with Christmas Island (which is about 960 kilometres (600 mi) to the east) forms the Australian Indian Ocean Territories administrative grouping. However, the islanders do have a degree of self-government through the local shire council. Many public services – including health, education, and policing – are provided by the state of Western Australia, and Western Australian law applies except where the federal government has determined otherwise. The territory also uses Western Australian postcodes.

The islands were discovered in 1609 by the British sea captain William Keeling, but no settlement occurred until the early 19th century. One of the first settlers was John Clunies-Ross, a Scottish merchant; much of the island's current population is descended from the Malay workers he brought in to work his copra plantation. The Clunies-Ross family ruled the islands as a private fiefdom for almost 150 years, with the head of the family usually recognised as resident magistrate. The British annexed the islands in 1857, and for the next century they were administered from either Ceylon or Singapore. The territory was transferred to Australia in 1955, although until 1979 virtually all of the territory's real estate still belonged to the Clunies-Ross family.

Name

The islands have been called the Cocos Islands (from 1622), the Keeling Islands (from 1703), the Cocos–Keeling Islands (since James Horsburgh in 1805) and the Keeling–Cocos Islands (19th century).^[8] Cocos refers to the abundant coconut trees, while Keeling refers to William Keeling, who discovered the islands in 1609.^[8]

Cocos Islands Act 1955
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to enable Her Majesty to place the Cocos or Keeling Islands under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia, and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation	3 & 4 Eliz. 2. c. 5
Dates
Royal assent	29 March 1955

John Clunies-Ross,^[9] who sailed there in the Borneo in 1825, called the group the Borneo Coral Isles, restricting Keeling to North Keeling, and calling South Keeling "the Cocos properly so called".^[10][11] The form Cocos (Keeling) Islands, attested from 1916,^[12] was made official by the Cocos Islands Act 1955.^[8]

The territory's Malay name is Pulu Kokos (Keeling). Sign boards on the island also feature Malay translations.^[13][14]

Geography

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two flat, low-lying coral atolls with an area of 14.2 square kilometres (5.5 sq mi), 26 kilometres (16 mi) of coastline, a highest elevation of 5 metres (16 ft) and thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation. The climate is pleasant, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with moderate rainfall. Tropical cyclones may occur in the early months of the year.

North Keeling Island is an atoll consisting of just one C-shaped island, a nearly closed atoll ring with a small opening into the lagoon, about 50 metres (160 ft) wide, on the east side. The island measures 1.1 square kilometres (270 acres) in land area and is uninhabited. The lagoon is about 0.5 square kilometres (120 acres). North Keeling Island and the surrounding sea to 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from shore form the Pulu Keeling National Park, established on 12 December 1995. It is home to the only surviving population of the endemic, and endangered, Cocos Buff-banded Rail.

South Keeling Islands is an atoll consisting of 24 individual islets forming an incomplete atoll ring, with a total land area of 13.1 square kilometres (5.1 sq mi). Only Home Island and West Island are populated. The Cocos Malays maintain weekend shacks, referred to as pondoks, on most of the larger islands.

There are no rivers or lakes on either atoll. Fresh water resources are limited to water lenses on the larger islands, underground accumulations of rainwater lying above the seawater. These lenses are accessed through shallow bores or wells.

Flora and fauna

Climate

Cocos (Keeling) Islands experience a tropical rainforest climate (Af) according to the Köppen climate classification; the archipelago lies approximately midway between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. The archipelago has two distinct seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The wettest month is April with precipitation totaling 262.6 millimetres (10.34 in), and the driest month is October with precipitation totaling 88.2 millimetres (3.47 in). Due to the strong maritime control, temperatures vary little although its location is some distance from the Equator. The hottest month is March with an average high temperature of 30.0 °C (86.0 °F), while the coolest month is September with an average low temperature of 24.2 °C (75.6 °F).