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Compare Guernsey (2004) - European Union (2004)

Compare Guernsey (2004) z European Union (2004)

 Guernsey (2004)European Union (2004)
 GuernseyEuropean Union
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 -
Age structure 0-14 years: 15.6% (male 5,161; female 5,013)


15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,497; female 21,897)


65 years and over: 17.6% (male 4,812; female 6,651) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 16.3%


15-64 years: 67.2%


65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.)
Agriculture - products tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish
Airports 2 (2003 est.) total: 3,130


with paved runways: 1,834


with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
-
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: 3,976,372 sq km
Area - comparative about one-half the size of Washington, DC less than one-half the size of the US
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. Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.

The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.

In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006.

Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members.
Birth rate 9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $381.3 million


expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)
-
Capital Saint Peter Port Brussels, Belgium
Climate temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Coastline 50 km 65,413.9 km
Constitution unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006
Country name conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey


conventional short form: Guernsey
-
Currency British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK)
Death rate 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Debt - external NA $NA
Dependency status British crown dependency -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (British crown dependency) chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL


embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels


mailing address: same as above


telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222


FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720
Diplomatic representation in the US none (British crown dependency) chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON


chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500


FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766
Disputes - international none -
Economic aid - donor - $NA
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 environment under which Guernsey operates. Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 2.635 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 234.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) 245.7 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production NA kWh 2.822 trillion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m


highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m
Environment - current issues NA NA
Environment - international agreements - Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries -
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 euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Executive branch chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)


head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004)


cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation


elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion


election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)


cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas)


elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009)


election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions


note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines
Exports NA 6.429 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.
Exports - partners UK (regarded as internal trade) NA
Fiscal year calendar year NA
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 on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 3%


industry: 10%


services: 87% (2000)
agriculture: 2.3%


industry: 28.3%


services: 69.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.7% (1999 est.) 1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 49 28 N, 2 35 W -
Geography - note large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port -
Heliports - 94 (2003)
Highways total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)


paved: 4,161,318 km


unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 2.9%


highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.)
Imports NA 16.97 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners UK (regarded as internal trade) NA
Independence none (British crown dependency) 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
Industrial production growth rate NA 0.8% (2004 est.)
Industries tourism, banking among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 5.35 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2000 est.) 2% (2004 est.)
International organization participation UPU European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO


European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer)


European Central Bank: BIS


European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member)
Irrigated land NA sq km 115,807 sq km
Judicial branch Royal Court European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term
Labor force 31,320 (2000) 211.1 million
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000)
Land boundaries 0 km total: 11,214.8 km


border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km


note: data for European Continent only
Land use arable land: NA


permanent crops: NA


other: NA (2001)
arable land: NA


permanent crops: NA
Languages English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed
Legal system English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court -
Legislative branch unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments


elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008)


election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term


elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28
Life expectancy at birth total population: 80.17 years


male: 77.17 years


female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)
total population: 78.1 years


male: 74.9 years


female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA


male: NA


female: NA
-
Location Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean
Map references Europe Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 3 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
NA
Merchant marine none -
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the UK In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups."
National holiday Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe
Nationality noun: Channel Islander(s)


adjective: Channel Islander
-
Natural hazards NA flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Natural resources cropland iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish
Net migration rate 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Political parties and leaders none; all independents Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI]
Political pressure groups and leaders none -
Population 65,031 (July 2004 est.) 456,285,839 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line NA NA
Population growth rate 0.31% (2004 est.) 0.17% (July 2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio)
Railways - total: 222,293 km


broad gauge: 28,438 km


standard gauge: 186,405 km


narrow gauge: 7,427 km


other: 23 km (2003)
Religions Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 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 (2004 est.)
at birth: NA


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: 1 submarine cable
note - see individual country entries of member states
Telephones - main lines in use 55,000 (2001) 238,763,162 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 31,500 (2001) 314,644,700 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 1 (1997) 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision)
Terrain mostly level with low hills in southwest fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Total fertility rate 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 0.5% (1999 est.) 9.1% (2004 est.)
Waterways - 53,512 km
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