Christmas Island, an Australian territory which is located in the Indian Ocean, has a population of 1,403 people. There are several concentrated areas of human population on the island's northern tip. These are Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.
Because the island is quite remotely located, and has such a small human population, the plants and animals on the island hold the interest of many scientists. There are many species which can only be found on Christmas Island, the ecological concept called endemism. In fact, 52 of Christmas Island's square miles are an Australian National Forest.
The sovereignty of Christmas Island, previously held by the UK, was transferred to Australia. Because the island is an extremely rich resource for phosphate, the Australian government paid 2.9 million dollars to Singapore for their loss of phosphate. This figure was based on a loose estimation of the revenue lost to Singapore since they didn't have access to Christmas Island.