Guernsey (2003) | Norfolk Island (2008) | |
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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 Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.8% (male 5,216; female 5,061)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 21,433; female 21,835) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 4,705; female 6,568) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | about 0.2 times 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. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million (FY99/00) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 50 km | 32 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $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. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
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 Graham CAREY (since NA 1999) 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); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
Exports | $NA | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
- |
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 | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Imports | $NA | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | NA |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, banking | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.99% (2000 est.) | - |
International organization participation | none | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 31,322 (2000) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.04 years
male: 77.04 years female: 83.14 years (2003 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
NA |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | cropland | fish |
Net migration rate | 3.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 64,818 (July 2003 est.) | 2,114 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.34% (2003 est.) | 0.006% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Railways | 5 km | - |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.2%, none 18.1% (2001 census) |
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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia and New Zealand; satellite earth station |
Telephones - main lines in use | 44,000 (1996) | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,000 (1997) | 0; note - proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (local programming station plus 2 repeaters that air Australian programs by satellite) (2005) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |