Guernsey (2008) | Libya (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.8% (male 4,914/female 4,784)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 21,897/female 22,298) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,955/female 6,725) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400) 65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
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: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | 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. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $563.6 million
expenditures: $530.9 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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 |
Tripoli |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 50 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | - | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $7 million |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 23% of employment and 32% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Financial services, construction, retail, and the public sector have been growing. 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 socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 18.042 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 19.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 ) |
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 Michael W. TORODE (since 5 March 2007) 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 Deliberation election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $NA | $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) | Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000) |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km unpaved: 17,686 km note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) | Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (June 2006) | 13.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 31,470 (March 2006) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; justice is administered by the Royal Court | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.53 years
male: 77.53 years female: 83.64 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.86 years
male: 73.71 years female: 78.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | - | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,694 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | NA | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | cropland | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 65,573 (July 2007 est.) | 5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.239% (2007 est.) | 2.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | - | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | - | note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.027 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 45,100 (2005) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,800 (2004) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |