Isle of Man (2002) | European Union (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.72% (male 37,208,905/female 35,254,445)
15-64 years: 67.16% (male 155,807,769/female 153,690,235) 65 years and over: 17.11% (male 32,592,595/female 46,273,197) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 3,393 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
2,020 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | 1,373 (2006) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 4,324,782 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | less than one-half the size of the US |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. | 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 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 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 the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the 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 - and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (in force as of 1 February 2003) set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish an EU constitution, begun in October 2004, failed to attain unanimous ratification. A new effort, undertaken in June 2007, calls for the creation of an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, which is to serve as a constitution. Unlike the constitution, however, the Reform Treaty would amend existing treaties rather than replace them. |
Birth rate | 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
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Capital | Douglas | name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 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 note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, Belgium, the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
Coastline | 160 km | 65,992.9 km |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution | 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 (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2003; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 dealt a severe setback to the ratification process; in June 2007, the European Council agreed on a clear and concise mandate for an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement and put it into legal form; this agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, is to serve as a constitution and will be presented to the European Council in October 2007, in order to begin the ratification process |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
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Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound | - |
Death rate | 11.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission: Ambassador C. Boyden GRAY
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, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
Disputes - international | none | as a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia and Latvia have no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 13 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 eventually are expected to participate fully in Schengen, following a transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | Internally, the EU is attempting 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 among member states (from $7,000 to $69,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 10 and two countries, respectively, that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Twelve established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999, but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia has adopted the euro (1 January 2007); the remaining 11 are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.81 trillion kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - exports | - | NA |
Electricity - imports | - | NA |
Electricity - production | - | 3.007 trillion kWh (2004 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | NA |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
Ethnic groups | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | - |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since NA 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald |
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 27 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 and is confirmed by the European Parliament; working from member state recommendations, the Commission president then assembles a "college" of Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; the last confirmation process was held 18 November 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 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 four times 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 | NA |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | 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 | US 23.3%, Switzerland 7.6%, Russia 5.2%, China 4.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | 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 - $1.4 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 27.3% services: 70.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 13.5% (1999 est.) | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | - |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | - |
Heliports | - | 100 (2007) |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (2001 est.) |
Imports | $NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing |
Imports - partners | UK | US 13.8%, China 13.4%, Russia 8.2%, Japan 6.2% (2006) |
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 | 3.2% (FY96/97 ) | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | none | European Union: ARF (dialogue member), ASEAN (dialogue member), IDA, OAS (observer), UN (observer)
European Community: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, EBRD, G-10, NAM (observer), NSG (observer), OECD, UNRWA, WTO, ZC (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: EBRD, WADB (nonregional member) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 168,050 sq km (2003 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) - 27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27 justices appointed for a six-year term |
Labor force | 36,610 (1998) | 220.9 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 27.2% services: 67.1% note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 12,440.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km note: data for European Continent only |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | comparable to the legal systems of member states; first supranational law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
two legislative bodies consists of the Council of the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population; note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU) and the European Parliament (785 seats, as of 1 January 2007; 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; note - seats by party as of 1 December 2007 - EPP-ED 275, PES 217, ALDE 104, UEN 44, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 24, independents 34, 4 unaccounted for |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.81 years
male: 74.44 years female: 81.36 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.7 years
male: 75.6 years female: 82 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
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Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | In November 2004, the EU heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, this treaty will give operational effect to the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a EU military planning unit is likely to continue. The planning unit will support the EU Rapid Reaction Force, which EU ministers have said will deploy 2 "battle groups" in January 2007. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The 5-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 the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Individual EU nations made commitments to provide 67,100 troops following the December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki. Some 56,000 troops from EU member states were actually deployed on various international operations in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of 3 battle groups in 2005. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonia forces. The remaining 9 groups are to be formed in 2007. A rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007. (2005) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to achieve an organized Europe |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
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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 | none | iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Joseph DAUL]; Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Group or ITS [Bruno GOLLNISCH]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 73,873 (July 2002 est.) | 490,426,060 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | see individual country listings |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2002 est.) | 0.16% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 930, FM 13,655, shortwave 71 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | total: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001) | total: 236,656 km
broad gauge: 28,240 km standard gauge: 200,532 km narrow gauge: 7,861 km other: 23 km (2006) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
note - see individual country entries of member states |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (1999) | 238 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 466 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 2,700 (1995); note - sum of individual country television broadcast stations excluding repeaters; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.5 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (February 2002 ) | 8.5% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 52,332 km (2006) |