Faroe Islands (2001) | Japan (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 49 municipalities | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.62% (male 5,193; female 5,136) 15-64 years: 63.64% (male 15,463; female 13,596) 65 years and over: 13.74% (male 2,802; female 3,471) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.5% (male 9,465,282; female 8,999,888)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 43,027,320; female 42,586,112) 65 years and over: 18% (male 9,664,112; female 13,231,914) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 173 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 141
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 27 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,399 sq km land: 1,399 sq km water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) |
total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
Area - comparative | eight times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than California |
Background | The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self-government was attained in 1948. | While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. |
Birth rate | 13.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$488 million expenditures: $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (1999) |
revenues: $441 billion
expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion |
Capital | Torshavn | Tokyo |
Climate | mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
Coastline | 1,117 km | 29,751 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 3 May 1947 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Faroe Islands local long form: none local short form: Foroyar |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | yen (JPY) |
Death rate | 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $64 million (1999) | $NA |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | Faroese are considering proposals for full independence | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $135 million (annual subsidy from Denmark) (1999) | - |
Economy - overview | The Faroese economy has had a strong performance since 1994, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and high and stable export prices. Unemployment is falling and there are signs of labor shortages in several sectors. The positive economic development has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce increasing budget surpluses which in turn help to reduce the large public debt, most of it owed to Denmark. However, the total dependence on fishing makes the Faroese economy extremely vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what is required to ensure a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Oil finds close to the Faroese area give hope for deposits in the immediate Faroese area, which may eventually lay the basis for a more diversified economy and thus less dependence on Denmark and Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (15% of GDP) from Denmark, the Faroese have a standard of living not far below the Danes and other Scandinavians. | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-02 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". Internal conflict over the proper means to reform the ailing banking system will continue in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 158.1 million kWh (1999) | 943.71 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 170 million kWh (1999) | 1.015 trillion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
58.82% hydro: 41.18% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 61%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 29% other: 2% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m |
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Scandinavian | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) (2000) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.093 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1966) | yen per US dollar - 132.66 (January 2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Ms. Vibeke LARSEN, chief administrative officer (since NA) head of government: Prime Minister Anfinn KALLSBERG (since 15 May 1998) cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held 30 April 1998 (next to be held no later than April 2002) election results: Anfinn KALLSBERG elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - 52.8% note: coalition of People's Party, Republican Party and Home Rule Party |
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister |
Exports | $471 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $383.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999) | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Denmark 32%, UK 21%, France 9%, Germany 7%, Iceland 5%, US 5% (1996) | US 30.1%, China 7.7%, South Korea 6.3%, Taiwan 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.8% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $910 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.55 trillion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
27% industry: 11% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | -0.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 7 00 W | 36 00 N, 138 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 17 inhabited islands and one uninhabited island, and a few uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands | strategic location in northeast Asia |
Heliports | - | 15 (2002) |
Highways | total:
463 km paved: 454 km unpaved: 9 km (1999) |
total: 1,152,207 km
paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 22% (1993) |
Imports | $469 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $292.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999) | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles (2001) |
Imports - partners | Denmark 28%, Norway 26%, Germany 7%, UK 6% Sweden 5%, Iceland 4%, US (1999) | US 18.1%, China 16.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Taiwan 4.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2001 est.) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (1999 est.) | -1.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | fishing, fish processing, shipbuilding, construction, handicrafts | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods |
Infant mortality rate | 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.1% (1999) | -0.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | NC, NIB | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 73 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | none | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) |
Labor force | 24,250 (October 2000) | 67.7 million (December 2000 ) |
Labor force - by occupation | fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34% | services 70%, industry 25%, agriculture 5% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 94% (1996) |
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 86.86% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish | Japanese |
Legal system | Danish | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 April 1998 (next to be held not later than April 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - Republican Party 23.8%, People's Party 21.3%, Social Democratic Party 21.9%, Union Party 18%, Home Rue Party 7.7%, Center Party 4.1%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, People's Party 8, Social Democratic Party 7, Union Party 6, Home Rule Party 2, Center Party 1 note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 11 March 1998 (next to be held not later than March 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Social Democratic Party 1, People's Party 1 |
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247 seats - formerly 252; one-half of the members elected every three years - 73 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 48 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next must be held by June 2004, but may occur sooner) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, independents 6, others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 242, DPJ 126, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, NCP 7, other 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.59 years male: 75.12 years female: 82.06 years |
total population: 80.91 years
male: 77.73 years female: 84.25 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait |
Merchant marine | total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,247 GRT/11,736 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 615 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,995,839 GRT/14,405,159 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 48, chemical tanker 17, combination bulk 24, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 50, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 189, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 48, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 54 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | defense is the responsibility of Denmark; no organized native military forces; only a small Police Force and Coast Guard are maintained | Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Japanese Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $40,774.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 29,644,498 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 25,637,387 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 765,817 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Olaifest, 29 July | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
Nationality | noun:
Faroese (singular and plural) adjective: Faroese |
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
Natural hazards | NA | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
Natural resources | fish, whales, hydropower | negligible mineral resources, fish |
Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Jenis A. RANA]; Home Rule Party [Helena Dam a NEYSTABO]; People's Party [Oli BRECKMANN]; Republican Party [Hogni HOYDAL]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Edmund JOENSEN] | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Tadayeshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party or NCP [Takeshi NODA, president, Toshihiro NIKAI, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 45,661 (July 2001 est.) | 126,974,628 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.78% (2001 est.) | 0.15% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Torshavn, Klaksvik, Tvoroyri, Runavik, Fuglafjorour | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) |
Radios | 26,000 (1997) | 120.5 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 23,654 km (15,895 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,059 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (entirely electrified); 20,491 km 1.067-m gauge (12,732 km electrified); 27 km 0.762-m gauge (entirely electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
good international communications; good domestic facilities domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed international: satellite earth stations - 1 Orion; 1 fiber-optic submarine cable to the Shetland Islands, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; fiber-optic submarine cable connection to Canada-Europe cable |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,851 (1999) | 60.381 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 10,761 (1999) | 63.88 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995) | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
Terrain | rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast | mostly rugged and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1% (October 2000) | 5.4% (2002) |
Waterways | none | 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |