Indian Ocean (2004) | Guernsey (2004) | |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | - | 2 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | about 5.5 times the size of the US | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Saint Peter Port |
Climate | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 66,526 km | 50 km |
Constitution | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | - | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | - | 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
Economy - overview | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea | NA |
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 |
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 |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | - | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
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 |
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 | 20 00 S, 80 00 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
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 |
Imports - commodities | - | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | - | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | tourism, banking |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | UPU |
Irrigated land | - | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court |
Labor force | - | 31,320 (2000) |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001) |
Languages | - | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 80.17 years
male: 77.17 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches | NA |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules | cropland |
Net migration rate | - | 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | - | 65,031 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 0.31% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
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.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 55,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 31,500 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.5% (1999 est.) |