Jersey (2001) | Spratly Islands (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.77% (male 8,214; female 7,667) 15-64 years: 67.59% (male 30,065; female 30,331) 65 years and over: 14.64% (male 5,603; female 7,481) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products | - |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 3 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
116 sq km land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | NA |
Background | The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef, but has not made any formal claim. |
Birth rate | 11.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$601 million expenditures: $588 million, including capital expenditures of $98 million (2000 est.) |
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Capital | Saint Helier | - |
Climate | temperate; mild winters and cool summers | tropical |
Coastline | 70 km | 926 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Bailiwick of Jersey conventional short form: Jersey |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Jersey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | none | - |
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 | none | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands |
Economic aid - recipient | none | - |
Economy - overview | The economy is based largely on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. In 1996 the finance sector accounted for about 60% of the island's output. Tourism, another mainstay of the economy, accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 143 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent | - |
Exchange rates | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshall Sir John CHESHIRE (since 24 January 2001) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since NA February 1995) cabinet: committees appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch |
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Exports | $NA | - |
Exports - commodities | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles | - |
Exports - partners | UK | - |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
Flag description | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield holding the three lions of England in yellow | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.2 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 2% services: 93% (1996) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 49 15 N, 2 10 W | 8 38 N, 111 55 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs |
Highways | total:
577 km (1995) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $NA | - |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals | - |
Imports - partners | UK | - |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, banking and finance, dairy | - |
Infant mortality rate | 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.7% (1998) | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) | - |
Labor force | 57,050 (1996) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
66% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 34% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | - |
Legal system | English law and local statute | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12 senators, 12 constables or heads of parishes, 29 deputies; all elected for six-year terms, half elected every third year; the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 52 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.63 years male: 76.21 years female: 81.23 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
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Location | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs, of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander |
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Natural hazards | NA | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard |
Natural resources | arable land | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 89,361 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states (2004) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.48% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 3 submarine cables |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 65,500 (1997) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,400 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | - |
Terrain | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast | flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (1998 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |