Guernsey (2002) | French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004) | |
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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 | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
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) | none |
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: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware |
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. | The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840. |
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 | - |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | antarctic |
Coastline | 50 km | 1,232 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises |
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 France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US |
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 servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion. |
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 |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
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 |
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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 France 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 | 43 00 S, 67 00 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean |
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 | - |
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 | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | - |
Labor force | 31,322 (2000) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | - |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | the laws of France, 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 | southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land" |
Map references | Europe | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,092,387 GRT/5,056,658 DWT
by type: bulk 4, cargo 2, chemical tanker 19, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 2, France 49, Japan 4, Monaco 5, Norway 5, Sweden 5 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of France |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | - |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
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Natural hazards | NA | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes |
Natural resources | cropland | fish, crayfish |
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 inhabitants (July 2002 est.)
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2002 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | St. Peter Port, Saint Sampson | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
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) | - |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 1.36 children born/woman (2002 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |