Guernsey (2006) | Svalbard (2008) | |
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 Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | - |
Airports | 2 (one on Alderney) (2006) | 4 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 3
under 914 m: 3 (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: 61,020 sq km
land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
revenues: $25.07 million
expenditures: $NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: Longyearbyen
geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 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 | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 50 km | 3,587 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: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Death rate | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | - |
Disputes - international | none | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous 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. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | $NA | $197.6 million (2004) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | - |
Exports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) | - |
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 Norway is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
- |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Imports | $NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | - |
Imports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) | - |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, banking | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.9% (2004 est.) | - |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | - |
Labor force | 32,290 (2001) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Norwegian, Russian |
Legal system | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 years (2006 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 | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Europe | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | - |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
- |
Natural hazards | NA | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | cropland | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 65,409 (July 2006 est.) | 2,214 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2006 est.) | -0.007% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
NA (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
general assessment: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,100 (2004) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,800 (2004) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | - |