or Keeling Islands
Territory (pop., 1996: 558) of Australia.
Lying in the eastern Indian Ocean about 580 mi (930 km) southwest of Java , it consists of two isolated atolls and 27 small coral islets and has a total land area of 5.6 sq mi (14.4 sq km). They were discovered in 1609 by William Keeling and first settled in 1826. Declared a British possession in 1857, the Cocos at times came under the government of Ceylon but ultimately passed to Australia in 1955. In 1984 the residents voted to merge with Australia.