South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) | Monaco (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 2,563/female 2,445)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 9,909/female 10,217) 65 years and over: 22.4% (male 2,972/female 4,303) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | none |
Airports | - | none; linked to the airport at Nice, France by helicopter service (2004 est.) |
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: 1.95 sq km
land: 1.95 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | about three times the size of The Mall in 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. | Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center. |
Birth rate | - | 9.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $518 million
expenditures: $531 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1995) |
Capital | - | Monaco |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers |
Coastline | NA km | 4.1 km |
Constitution | - | 17 December 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI |
conventional long form: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco |
Death rate | - | 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $18 billion (2000 est.) |
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 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | Monaco does not have an embassy in the US
consulate(s) general: New York |
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. | Monaco, bordering France on the Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. In 2001, a major construction project extended the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are extremely rough. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - imports | - | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Agel 140 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | - | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% |
Exchange rates | - | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005)
head of government: Minister of State Jean-Paul PROUST (since 1 June 2005) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government |
Exports | - | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
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) | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 17%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 0.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 43 44 N, 7 24 E |
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 | second-smallest independent state in the world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban |
Heliports | - | 1 (shuttle service between the international airport at Nice, France, and Monaco's heliport at Fontvieille) (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
Independence | - | 1419 (beginning of the rule by the House of Grimaldi) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.9% (2000) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, CE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council) |
Labor force | - | 30,540 (January 1994) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4.4 km
border countries: France 4.4 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (2001) |
Languages | - | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM 21, UND 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 79.57 years
male: 75.7 years female: 83.63 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 54 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of France; the Palace Guard performs ceremonial duties (2003) |
National holiday | - | National Day (Prince of Monaco Holiday), 19 November |
Nationality | - | noun: Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)
adjective: Monegasque or Monacan |
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 | none |
Net migration rate | - | 7.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]; Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
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 |
32,409 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.43% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Monaco |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 1, FM NA, shortwave 8 (1998) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 90% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
general assessment: modern automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: country code - 377; no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 33,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 19,300 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 5 (1998) |
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 | hilly, rugged, rocky |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.76 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 22% (1999) |