Cocos Islands

Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Flag
Motto: Maju Pulu Kita  (Malay) "Onward our island"
Status	External Territory
Capital	West Island
Largest village	Bantam (Home Island)
Official languages	None
Mother languages	Malay, English
Demonym	Cocossian Cocos Islandian
Sovereign state	Australia
Government	Federal constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Elizabeth II
• Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia	Sir Peter Cosgrove
• Administrator	Barry Haase
• Shire President	Aindil Minkom
Territory of Australia
• Annexed by the British Empire	1857
• Transferred to Australian control	1955
Area
• Total	14 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
• Water (%)	0
Population
• July 2014 estimate	596 (237)
• Density	43/km2 (111.4/sq mi) (n/a)
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)
Time zone	CCT (UTC+06:30)
Calling code	61 891
ISO 3166 code	CC
Internet TLD	.cc
^ English does not have de jure status in Cocos (Keeling) Island and in Australia, but it is the de facto language of communication in government.

The Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also called Cocos Islands (/ˈkoʊkəs/) and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka.

The territory consists of two atolls and 27 coral islands, of which two, West Island and Home Island, are inhabited with a total population of approximately 600.

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).Cocos refers to the abundant coconut trees, while Keeling is William Keeling, reputedly the first European to sight the islands, in 1609. John Clunies-Ross, 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". The form Cocos (Keeling) Islands, attested from 1916, was made official by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955.

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.