This article is about the Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. For the island of Kiribati, see Kiritimati. For other uses, see Christmas Island (disambiguation).
Australian Indian Ocean Territory External territory of Australia
Territory of Christmas Island 圣诞岛领地 / 聖誕島領地(Chinese) Wilayah Pulau Krismas(Malay)
Flying Fish Cove, the territory's capital
Flag
Location of Christmas Island (red circle) and the location of Australia mainland (continent in red)
Sovereign state
Australia
British annexation
6 June 1888
Transferred from Singapore to Australia
1 October 1958
Named for
Christmas Day when it was found
Capital
and largest city
Flying Fish Cove ("The Settlement") 10°25′18″S105°40′41″E / 10.42167°S 105.67806°E / -10.42167; 105.67806
Official languages
None[a]
Spoken languages
English
Malay
Mandarin
Cantonese
Hokkien
Ethnic groups
(2021)
22.2% Chinese
17% Australians
16.1% Malays
12.5% English
3.8% Indonesians
28.4% other (including Indians and Eurasians)[1]
Demonym(s)
Christmas Islander
Government
Directly administered dependency
• Monarch
Charles III
• Governor-General
David Hurley
• Administrator
Farzian Zainal
• Shire President
Gordon Thomson
Parliament of Australia
• Senate
represented by Northern Territory senators
• House of Representatives
included in the Division of Lingiari
Area
• Total
135[2] km2 (52 sq mi)
• Water (%)
0
Highest elevation
361 m (1,184 ft)
Population
• 2021 census
1,692[3] (not ranked)
• Density
10.39/km2 (26.9/sq mi) (not ranked)
GDP (nominal)
2010 estimate
• Total
$52.1 million[4]
Currency
Australian dollar (AU$) (AUD)
Time zone
UTC+07:00 (CXT)
Driving side
left
Calling code
+61 8 91[b]
Postcode
6798[b]
ISO 3166 code
CX
Internet TLD
.cx[5]
Christmas Island
Simplified Chinese
圣诞岛
Traditional Chinese
聖誕島
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Shèngdàn Dǎo
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
Sing3daan3 Dou2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ
Sèng-tàn-tó
Territory of Christmas Island
Simplified Chinese
圣诞岛领地
Traditional Chinese
聖誕島領地
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Shèngdàn Dǎo Lǐngdì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
Sing3daan3 Dou2 Ling5dei6
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ
Sèng-tàn-tó Léng-tē
Malay name
Malay
Wilayah 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).[2]
Christmas Island had a population of 1,692 residents as of 2021[update],[3] 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.[6][7] 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),[3] 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. Islam and Buddhism are major religions on the island. The religion question in the Australian census is optional, and 28% of the population do not declare their religious belief.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"2021 Christmas Island, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". abs.gov.au. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
^ abShire of Christmas Island
^ abcCite error: The named reference Census2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^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.
^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^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.
^"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.
^"Religious Affiliation (RELP)". Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Census and Census Data, Australia, 2016. 7 November 2017: Australian Bureau of Statistics. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Luscombe, Stephen (2019). "Christmas Island". The British Empire. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^"Save Christmas Island – Introduction". The Wilderness Society. 19 September 2002. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
105.62750 The Territory of ChristmasIsland is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is located...
(pronounced [kiˈrɪsmæs], also known as ChristmasIsland) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati...
The ChristmasIsland red crab (Gecarcoidea natalis) is a species of land crab that is endemic to ChristmasIsland and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian...
ChristmasIsland International Airport (IATA: XCH, ICAO: YPXM) is an airport located on ChristmasIsland, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean...
The ChristmasIsland pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi) is an extinct species of vesper bat that was found only on ChristmasIsland, Australia. The last...
Shire of ChristmasIsland is a local government area encompassing the Australian external territory of ChristmasIsland. Under the ChristmasIsland Act, Western...
as the blue-tailed shinning-skink, the ChristmasIsland blue-tailed shinning-skink, and the ChristmasIsland blue-tailed skink, is a species of lizard...
The ChristmasIsland shrew (Crocidura trichura), also known as the ChristmasIsland musk-shrew is an extremely rare or possibly extinct shrew from Christmas...
The Battle of ChristmasIsland was a small engagement which began on 31 March 1942, during World War II. Assisted by a mutiny of soldiers of the British...
The flag of ChristmasIsland was unofficially adopted in 1986 after being chosen the winner in a competition for a flag for the territory. It was designed...
Lister's gecko or the ChristmasIsland chained gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to ChristmasIsland in the Indian Ocean...
formerly ChristmasIsland Immigration Reception and Processing Centre is an Australian immigration detention facility located on ChristmasIsland in the...
Ikan Terbang) is the capital city and main settlement of Australia's ChristmasIsland. Although it was originally named after the British survey-ship Flying-Fish...
The ChristmasIsland Resort, often called the ChristmasIsland Casino, is a holiday resort on ChristmasIsland, an Australian territory in the north-eastern...
The Internet in ChristmasIsland is supplied by ChristmasIsland Fibre Internet (CiFi).[citation needed] According to the 2016 Australian census, 78.5%...
The following are settlements on ChristmasIsland; there are no cities on the island. All of them are administrated as part of the capital - Flying Fish...
The cuisine of ChristmasIsland can best be described as an eclectic combination of traditional Australian cuisine and Asian cuisine, particularly meals...
Queensland. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands uses UTC+06:30 year round, ChristmasIsland uses UTC+07:00 year round, while Norfolk Island uses UTC+11:00 as standard...
sport in ChristmasIsland. ChristmasIsland is not a member of FIFA. The ChristmasIsland national football team has competed in the Inter-Island Cup. In...
Islam in ChristmasIsland is the island's largest religion and is primarily practised by the island's ethnic Malay population; the island has no current...
Events from 2024 in ChristmasIsland. Administrative head: Farzian Zainal 19 February – The ChristmasIsland red crab migration happens, their first delayed...
Islands, the Australian Antarctic Territory, ChristmasIsland, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands,...
ChristmasIsland National Park is a national park occupying most of ChristmasIsland, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean southwest of Indonesia...
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ChristmasIsland: ChristmasIsland is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean...
The ChristmasIsland forest skink (Emoia nativitatis), also known as the ChristmasIsland whiptail skink, is an extinct species of skink formerly endemic...
Global Information
Australia