Guernsey (2004) | Reunion (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 Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 2 (2003 est.) | 2 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) |
Coastline | 50 km | 207 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $NA |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 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 state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (1999 est.) | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
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: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 31,320 (2000) | 299,000 (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001) |
arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | French law |
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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.17 years
male: 77.17 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | - | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | cropland | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 65,031 (July 2004 est.) | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.31% (2004 est.) | 1.34% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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 system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,000 (2001) | 300,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 31,500 (2001) | 579,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 31% (2002) |