Arctic Ocean (2001) | Jersey (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 12 parishes including Grouville, Saint Brelade, Saint Clement, Saint Helier, Saint John, Saint Lawrence, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Quen, Saint Peter, Saint Saviour, and Trinity |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 16.9% (male 8,003/female 7,428)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 30,586/female 30,853) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 6,388/female 8,063) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | - | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 116 sq km
land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | about two-thirds the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Jersey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. |
Birth rate | - | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $829 million
expenditures: $851 million (2005) |
Capital | - | name: Saint Helier
geographic coordinates: 49 11 N, 2 06 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | temperate; mild winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 70 km |
Constitution | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Jersey
conventional short form: Jersey |
Death rate | - | 9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Jersey's economy is based on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. In 2005 the finance sector accounted for about 50% of the island's output. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. Tourism accounts for one-quarter of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. Living standards come close to those of the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 630.1 million kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - imports | - | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 143 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | Jersey 51.1%, Britons 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white 6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | - | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Lieutenant Governor Andrew RIDGEWAY (since 14 June 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Frank WALKER (since December 2005); Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since February 1995) cabinet: Cabinet (since December 2005) elections: ministers of the Cabinet including the chief minister are elected by the Assembly of States; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch |
Exports | - | $NA |
Exports - commodities | - | light industrial and electrical goods, dairy cattle, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | - | UK (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | - | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag; in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield with the three lions of England in yellow |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 1%
industry: 2% services: 97% (2005) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 49 15 N, 2 10 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | $NA |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | - | UK (2006) |
Independence | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, banking and finance, dairy, electronics |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.7% (December 2006) |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) |
Labor force | - | 53,560 (June 2006) |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | - | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census) |
Legal system | - | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Assembly of the States of Jersey (58 seats; 55 are voting members, of which 12 are senators elected for six-year terms, 12 are constables or heads of parishes elected for three-year terms, 29 are deputies elected for three-year terms, the bailiff and the deputy bailiff, and 3 non-voting members includes the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held 19 October 2005 for senators and 23 November 2005 for deputies (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 55 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 79.51 years
male: 77.02 years female: 82.2 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Arctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | NA |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | two declared parties: Centre Party; Jersey Democratic Alliance
note: all senators and deputies elected in 2005 were independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | - | 91,321 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.244% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.077 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.792 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: submarine cable connectivity to Guernsey and UK |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 73,900 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 83,900 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.58 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 2.2% (2006 est.) |