Christmas Island

10°29′24″S 105°37′39″E / 10.49000°S 105.62750°E / -10.49000; 105.62750

Christmas Island
Territory of Christmas Island
圣诞岛领地 / 聖誕島領地 (Chinese)
Wilayah Pulau Krismas (Malay)
Location of Christmas Island (red circle) and the location of Australia mainland (continent in red)
Location of Christmas Island (red circle) and the location of Australia mainland (continent in red)
Sovereign state Australia
British annexation6 June 1888
Transferred from Singapore to Australia1 October 1958
Named forChristmas Day when it was found
Capital
and largest city
Flying Fish Cove
("The Settlement")
10°25′18″S 105°40′41″E / 10.42167°S 105.67806°E / -10.42167; 105.67806
Official languagesNone[a]
Spoken languages
Ethnic groups
(2021)
Demonym(s)Christmas Islander
GovernmentDirectly administered dependency
• Monarch
Charles III
Sam Mostyn
Farzian Zainal
Gordon Thomson
Parliament of Australia
• Senate
represented by Northern Territory senators
included in the Division of Lingiari
Area
• Total
135 km2 (52 sq mi)
• Water (%)
0
Highest elevation
361 m (1,184 ft)
Population
• 2021 census
1,692[5] (not ranked)
• Density
10.39/km2 (26.9/sq mi) (not ranked)
GDP (nominal)2010 estimate
• Total
$52.1 million[6]
CurrencyAustralian dollar (AU$) (AUD)
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (CXT)
Driving sideleft
Calling code+61 8 91[c]
Postcode
6798[c]
ISO 3166 codeCX
Internet TLD.cx[7]
Christmas Island
Simplified Chinese圣诞岛
Traditional Chinese聖誕島
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShèngdàn Dǎo
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingSing3daan3 Dou2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSèng-tàn-tó
Territory of Christmas Island
Simplified Chinese圣诞岛领地
Traditional Chinese聖誕島領地
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShèngdàn Dǎo Lǐngdì
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingSing3daan3 Dou2 Ling5dei6
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSèng-tàn-tó Léng-tē
Malay name
MalayWilayah Pulau Krismas

The Territory of Christmas Island is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is located approximately 350 kilometres (190 nautical miles) south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km (840 nmi) north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It has an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi).[8] The territory derives its name from its discovery on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors.

Christmas Island had a population of 1,692 residents as of 2021,[5] with the majority living in settlements on the northern edge of the island. The main settlement is Flying Fish Cove. Historically, Asian Australians of Chinese, Malay, and Indian descent formed the majority of the population.[9][10] Today, around two-thirds of the island's population is estimated to have Straits Chinese origin (though just 22.2% of the population declared a Chinese ancestry in 2021),[5] with significant numbers of Malays and European Australians and smaller numbers of Straits Indians and Eurasians. Several languages are in use including English, Malay, and various Chinese dialects. Religious beliefs vary geographically; the Anglo-Celtic influence in the capital known simply as The Settlement means it is closely tied to Catholicism, whereas in the Poon Saan area Buddhism is common, and Sunni Islam is generally observed in the shoreline water village where the Malays live.[11] The religion question in the Australian census is optional, and 28% of the population do not declare their religious belief.[12]

The first European to sight Christmas Island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. Captain William Mynors named it on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643. It was first settled in the late 19th century.[13] Christmas Island's geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists.[14] The majority (63%) of the island is included in the Christmas Island National Park, which features several areas of primary monsoonal forest. Phosphate, deposited originally as guano, has been mined on the island since 1899.


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  1. ^ a b "2021 Christmas Island, Census All persons QuickStats". Cultural Diversity. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022), 2021 Census of Population and Housing – General Community Profile: Christmas Island (LGA51710), Commonwealth of Australia
  3. ^ "Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), 2019". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 18 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Ancestry 1st response (ANC1P)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 15 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Census2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Lundy, Kate (2010). "Chapter 3: The economic environment of the Indian Ocean Territories". Inquiry into the changing economic environment in the Indian Ocean Territories (PDF). Parliament House, Canberra: Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-642-79276-1.
  7. ^ "Christmas Island Domain Administration". cxda.org.cx. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022.
  8. ^ Shire of Christmas Island
  9. ^ Neville-Hadley, Peter (14 December 2017). "Christmas Island – the next big thing in travel? Home to Chinese, Indians, and Malays, it's a fascinating mix of cultures". www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. ^ "The Christmas Island Story" (PDF). AUFP Platypus. Vol. 36. 1980. pp. 12–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  11. ^ Lee, Regina (2 February 2013). "Christmas Island's ethnic groups". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Religious Affiliation (RELP)". Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Census and Census Data, Australia, 2016. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  13. ^ Luscombe, Stephen (2019). "Christmas Island". The British Empire. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Save Christmas Island – Introduction". The Wilderness Society. 19 September 2002. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007.

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