telephone, telex, and facsimile
communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1
INTELSAT satellite earth station

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:
300 (1992)

Television broadcast stations:
NA

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.cc

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Airports:
1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 22 km
paved: 10 km
unpaved: 12 km (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Port Refuge

Military Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a
five-person police force

Transnational Issues Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Disputes - international:
none

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@Colombia

Introduction Colombia

Background:
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the
collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and
Venezuela). A 40-year conflict between government forces and
anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups -
both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s.
The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to
overthrow the government, and violence has been decreasing since
about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and
large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence.
Paramilitary groups challenge the insurgents for control of
territory and the drug trade. Most paramilitary members have
demobilized since 2002 in an ongoing peace process, although their
commitment to ceasing illicit activity is unclear. The Colombian
Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control
throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its
municipalities. However, neighboring countries worry about the
violence spilling over their borders.

Geography Colombia

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama
and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
Ecuador and Panama

Geographic coordinates:
4 00 N, 72 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 1,138,91