South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2007) | Guernsey (2006) | |
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: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | - | 2 (one on Alderney) (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
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 11 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, which have large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. 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 scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island. | 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. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. |
Birth rate | - | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
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 | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Death rate | - | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II | 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 | Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous 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 environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
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 - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
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 Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) 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 Delibertion 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 (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land) | 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% (2003 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 the 20th 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 (2004) |
Independence | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | UPU |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court |
Labor force | - | 32,290 (2001) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2005) |
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 senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | English law and local statutes; 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 their own 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: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 years (2006 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 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, 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 | - | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 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 |
65,409 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | - | 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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 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 | - | 55,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 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 | - | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.5% (1999 est.) |