South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2001) | Guernsey (2007) | |
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 Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 14.8% (male 4,914/female 4,784)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 21,897/female 22,298) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,955/female 6,725) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | none | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
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 | slightly larger than Rhode Island | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses a small military garrison. The islands have large bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 miles to 200 miles around each island. | 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. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. |
Birth rate | - | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$291,777 expenditures: $451,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.) |
revenues: $563.6 million
expenditures: $530.9 million (2005) |
Capital | - | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | NA km | 50 km |
Constitution | adopted 3 October 1985 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form:
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Death rate | - | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by UK civil commissioner Donald A. LAMONT, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is the garrison town | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | claimed by Argentina | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 23% of employment and 32% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Financial services, construction, retail, and the public sector have been growing. 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 | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | - | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002)
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 Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Michael W. TORODE (since 5 March 2007) 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 Deliberation 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; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | 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 - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South Georgia | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
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; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) |
Independence | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.4% (June 2006) |
International organization participation | - | UPU |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1993) | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court |
Labor force | - | 31,470 (March 2006) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | - | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 80.53 years
male: 77.53 years female: 83.64 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | NA |
Natural resources | fish | cropland |
Net migration rate | - | 3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2001 est.) |
65,573 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.239% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | - |
Radio broadcast stations | none | 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: 1.027 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 45,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |