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Geography Stats: compare key data on Christmas Island & Malaysia

Definitions

  • Area > Comparative: The area of various small countries expressed in comparison to various areas within the United States of America.
  • Area > Comparative to US places: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  • Area > Land: Total land area in square kilometres
  • Area > Land > Per capita: Total land area in square kilometres Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Area > Total: Total area in square kilometers
  • Area > Water: Total water area in square kilometers
  • Climate: A brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  • Coastline: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  • Elevation extremes > Highest point: Highest point above sea level
  • Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
  • Land use > Arable land: The percentage of used land that is arable. Arable land is land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest like wheat, maize, and rice
  • Location: The country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  • Natural hazards: Potential natural disasters.
  • Natural resources: A country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
  • Terrain: A brief description of the topography
  • Maritime claims > Territorial sea: territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal State extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the LOS Convention (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles. A full and definitive definition can be found in the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention.
  • Elevation extremes > Lowest point: This entry is derived from Geography > Elevation extremes, which includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
  • Population density: People per square kilometre, in 1999. At this time the world average was 14.42.
  • Map references: The name of the CIA World Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
  • Environment > Current issues: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
    Acidification - the lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation; this process disrupts ecosystem nutrient flows and may kill freshwater fish and plants dependent on more neutral or alkaline conditions (see acid rain).
    Acid rain - characterized as containing harmful levels of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide; acid rain is damaging and potentially deadly to the earth's fragile ecosystems; acidity is measured using the pH scale where 7 is neutral, values greater than 7 are considered alkaline, and values below 5.6 are considered acid precipitation; note - a pH of 2.4 (the acidity of vinegar) has been measured in rainfall in New England.
    Aerosol - a collection of airborne particles dispersed in a gas, smoke, or fog.
    Afforestation - converting a bare or agricultural space by planting trees and plants; reforestation involves replanting trees on areas that have been cut or destroyed by fire.
    Asbestos - a naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral commonly used in fireproofing materials and considered to be highly carcinogenic in particulate form.
    Biodiversity - also biological diversity; the relative number of species, diverse in form and function, at the genetic, organism, community, and ecosystem level; loss of biodiversity reduces an ecosystem's ability to recover from natural or man-induced disruption.
    Bio-indicators - a plant or animal species whose presence, abundance, and health reveal the general condition of its habitat.
    Biomass - the total weight or volume of living matter in a given area or volume.
    Carbon cycle - the term used to describe the exchange of carbon (in various forms, e.g., as carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere, and geological deposits.
    Catchments - assemblages used to capture and retain rainwater and runoff; an important water management technique in areas with limited freshwater resources, such as Gibraltar.
    DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane) - a colorless, odorless insecticide that has toxic effects on most animals; the use of DDT was banned in the US in 1972.
    Defoliants - chemicals which cause plants to lose their leaves artificially; often used in agricultural practices for weed control, and may have detrimental impacts on human and ecosystem health.
    Deforestation - ...
    Full definition
  • Land use > Other: The percentage share of used land that is not arable or under permanent crops. This includes permanent meadows and pastures, forests and woodlands, built-on areas, roads, barren land, etc.
  • Land use > Permanent crops: The percentage share of used land on which permanent crops are grown. This is land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest like citrus, coffee, and rubber. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber.
  • Note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
  • Marine Coastline: Length of each country's coastline in kilometers.
  • Area > Water > Per capita: Total water area in square kilometers Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Area > Total > Per capita: Total area in square kilometers Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
STAT Christmas Island Malaysia HISTORY
Area > Comparative about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC slightly larger than New Mexico
Area > Comparative to US places about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC slightly larger than New Mexico
Area > Land 135 sq km
Ranked 213th.
328,550 sq km
Ranked 63th. 2434 times more than Christmas Island

Area > Land > Per capita 373.96 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 7th. 29 times more than Malaysia
13 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 109th.

Area > Total 135 sq km
Ranked 221st.
329,847 sq km
Ranked 68th. 2443 times more than Christmas Island

Area > Water 0.0
Ranked 238th.
1,190 sq km
Ranked 107th.

Climate tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Coastline 138.9 km
Ranked 152nd.
4,675 km
Ranked 31st. 34 times more than Christmas Island

Elevation extremes > Highest point Murray Hill 361 m Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m
Geographic coordinates 10 30 S, 105 40 E 2 30 N, 112 30 E
Land use > Arable land 0.0
Ranked 243th.
5.44%
Ranked 147th.

Location Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Natural hazards the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard flooding; landslides; forest fires
Natural resources phosphate, beaches tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Terrain steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Maritime claims > Territorial sea 12 nautical mile
Ranked 168th. The same as Malaysia
12 nautical mile
Ranked 147th.

Elevation extremes > Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m Indian Ocean 0 m
Population density 17.58 people per sqkm
Ranked 185th.
65.06 people per sqkm
Ranked 126th. 4 times more than Christmas Island
Map references Southeast Asia Southeast Asia
Environment > Current issues loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires
Land use > Other 100%
Ranked 24th. 30% more than Malaysia
77.07%
Ranked 181st.

Land use > Permanent crops 0.0
Ranked 241st.
17.49%
Ranked 12th.

Note located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea
Marine Coastline 138.9 km
Ranked 152nd.
4,675 km
Ranked 31st. 34 times more than Christmas Island
Area > Water > Per capita 0.0
Ranked 211th.
47.48 sq km per 1 million peo
Ranked 115th.

Area > Total > Per capita 373.96 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 7th. 29 times more than Malaysia
13.05 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 115th.

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Heal The World Foundation.; CIA Factbook: List of countries by coastline size

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