Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island
etymology: named by British explorer Captain James COOK after Mary HOWARD, Duchess of Norfolk, in 1774

Dependency status:
self-governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E
time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (territory of Australia)

Independence:
none (territory of Australia)

National holiday:
Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)

Constitution:
previous 1913, 1957; latest effective 7 August 1979; amended many times, last in 2015 (2015)

Legal system:
English common law and the laws of Australia

Citizenship:
see Australia

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Gary HARDGRAVE (since 1 July 2014)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of 4 Legislative Assembly members
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia for a 2-year term and represents the monarch and Australia

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Regional Council (structure to be determined); interim Advisory Council effective 1 July 2015
elections: elections for the new Regional Council will occur in early 2016
election results: interim Advisory Council seats - 5 (appointed)
note: following an adminstrative restructuring of local government, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved on 18 June 2015 to be replaced by an interim Norfolk Island Advisory Council effective 1 July 2015; the Advisory Council will consist of 5 members appointed by the Norfolk Island administrator based on nominations from the community; following elections in early 2016, the new Regional Council will commence operations on 1 July 2016

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Norfolk Island (consists of the chief justice and NA justices); note - appeals beyond the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island are heard by the Federal Court of Australia
judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor general of Australia from among justices of the Federal Court of Australia; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts: Petty Court of Sessions; specialized courts including a Coroner's Court and the Employment Tribunal

Political parties and leaders:
Norfolk Island Labor Party [Mike KELLY] Norfolk Liberals [John BROWN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of Australia)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of Australia)

Flag description:
three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band; green stands for the rich vegetation on the island, and the pine tree - endemic to the island - is a symbol of Norfolk Island
note: somewhat reminiscent of the flag of Canada with its use of only two colors and depiction of a prominent local floral symbol in the central white band; also resembles the green and white triband of Nigeria

National symbol(s):
Norfolk Island pine

National anthem:
name: "Come Ye Blessed"
lyrics/music: New Testament/John Prindle SCOTT
note: the local anthem, whose lyrics consist of the words from Matthew 25:34-36, 40, is also known as "The Pitcairn Anthem;" as a territory of Australia, "God Save the Queen" is official (see Australia); however, the island does not recognize "Advance Australia Fair"