Norfolk Island (2005) | Guernsey (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.8% (male 5,216; female 5,061)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 21,433; female 21,835) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 4,705; female 6,568) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 | NA | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Saint Peter Port |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 32 km | 50 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | - | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | NA | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $NA |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 rules of the game under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | UK and Norman-French descent |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | 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); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) and Bailiff de Vic Graham CAREY (since NA 1999) cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; bailiff appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | NA | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3.99% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Royal Court |
Labor force | 1,345 | 31,322 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral Assembly of the States; consists of the bailiff, 10 Douzaine (parish council) representatives, 45 people's deputies elected by popular vote, 2 representatives from Alderney, Her Majesty's Procureur (Attorney General), Her Majesty's Comptroller (Solicitor General) and Her Majesty's Greffier (Court Recorder and Registrar General); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 12 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 80.04 years
male: 77.04 years female: 83.14 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | NA |
Natural resources | fish | cropland |
Net migration rate | NA | 3.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 64,818 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.34% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | 5 km |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 44,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 12,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |