Christmas Island, officially known as the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around 350 kilometres south of Java and Sumatra and around 1,550 km north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It lies 2,600 km northwest of Perth and 1,327 km south of Singapore. It has an area of 135 square kilometres.
Christmas Island had a population of 1,843 residents as of 2016, the majority living in settlements on the northern tip 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. Today, around two-thirds of the island's population is estimated to have Straits Chinese origin, 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, if any.