Guernsey (2002) | Dhekelia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including St. Peter Port, St. Sampson, Vale, Castel, St. Saviour, St. Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, St. Martin, St. Andrew | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16% (male 5,250; female 5,101)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,356; female 21,728) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 4,622; female 6,530) (2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | - |
Airports | 2 (2001) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area. |
Birth rate | 9.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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Capital | St. Peter Port | name: Episkopi Cantonment; located in Akrotiri
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
Coastline | 50 km | 27.5 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the rules of the game under which Guernsey operates. | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - exports | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
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Environment - current issues | NA | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent | - |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6944 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) and Bailiff De Vic G. CAREY (since NA) cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; bailiff appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $NA | - |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | - |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | the flag of the UK is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (1999 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 34 59 N, 33 45 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $NA | - |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | - |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | - |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, banking | none |
Infant mortality rate | 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.99% (2000 est.) | - |
International organization participation | none | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | - |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | - |
Labor force | 31,322 (2000) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: NA; note - boundary with Cyprus is being resurveyed |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
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Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English, Greek |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the States; consists of the bailiff, 10 Douzaine (parish council) representatives, 45 people's deputies elected by popular vote, 2 representatives from Alderney, Her Majesty's Procureur (Attorney General), Her Majesty's Comptroller (Solicitor General) and Her Majesty's Greffier (Court Recorder and Registrar General); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 12 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.9 years
male: 76.91 years female: 83.01 years (2002 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
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Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
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Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | - |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
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Natural hazards | NA | - |
Natural resources | cropland | - |
Net migration rate | 3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 64,587 (July 2002 est.) | no indigenous personnel
note: approximately 2,200 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both the bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2002 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | St. Peter Port, Saint Sampson | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | FM 1 (located in Akrotiri)
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 5 km | - |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 44,000 (1996) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,000 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | - |
Total fertility rate | 1.36 children born/woman (2002 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |