Pacific Ocean (2004) | Jersey (2001) | |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total:
116 sq km land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. 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 Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | 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. |
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.) |
Capital | - | Saint Helier |
Climate | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December | temperate; mild winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 135,663 km | 70 km |
Constitution | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | - | conventional long form:
Bailiwick of Jersey conventional short form: Jersey |
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 | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | none |
Economy - overview | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. | 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. |
Electricity - imports | - | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 143 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea | 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 |
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) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 160 00 W | 49 15 N, 2 10 W |
Geography - note | the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier |
Highways | - | total:
577 km (1995) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) |
Labor force | - | 57,050 (1996) |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land:
66% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 34% |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
78.63 years male: 76.21 years female: 81.23 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
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 | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December | NA |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish | arable land |
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.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan) | 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.) |
Suffrage | - | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | - | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 3 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 65,500 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 4,400 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Transportation - note | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.7% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |