Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of 
The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis
 
 Match 15   DB Rec# - 55,762  Dataset-WOFACT
 
Source        :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 
Source key    :CI 
Program       :WORLD FACTBOOK 
Program key   :CI WOFACT 
Update sched. :Annually         
ID number     :CI WOFACT 014              
Title         :ASHMORE AND CARTIER ISLANDS 
Data type     :TEXT 
End year      :1994
Date of record:02/16/1994
Keywords 3    : 
| ASHMORE AND CARTIER ISLANDS 
Text          : 
ASHMORE AND CARTIER ISLANDS 
Affiliation: (territory of Australia) 
 
GEOGRAPHY 
Location: in the Indian Ocean, 320 km off the northwest coast of 
Australia, between Australia and Indonesia 
 
Map references: Oceania, Southeast Asia 
 
Area: 
 
total area: 5 km2 
 
land area: 5 km2 
 
comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC 
 
note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier 
Island 
 
Land boundaries: 0 km 
 
contiguous zone: 12 nm 
 
continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploration 
 
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm 
 
territorial sea: 3 nm 
 
International disputes: none 
 
Climate: tropical 
 
Terrain: low with sand and coral 
 
Natural resources: fish 
 
Land use: 
 
arable land: 0% 
 
permanent crops: 0% 
 
meadows and pastures: 0% 
 
forest and woodland: 0% 
 
other: 100% (all grass and sand) 
 
Irrigated land: 0 km2 
 
Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National Nature 
Reserve established in August 1983 
 
PEOPLE 
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are only seasonal 
caretakers 
 
GOVERNMENT 
Names: 
 
conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands 
 
conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands 
 
Digraph: AT 
 
Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian Ministry for 
Arts, Sports, the Environment, Tourism, and Territories 
 
Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia 
 
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia) 
 
Independence: none (territory of Australia) 
 
Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia 
 
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia) 
 
ECONOMY 
Overview: no economic activity 
 
COMMUNICATIONS 
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only 
 
Defense forces 
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the 
Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force 
 
 
 
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This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM,
July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries 
Local Filename: WF940014.TXT