Spratly Islands (2001) | Guernsey (2002) | |
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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 St. Peter Port, St. Sampson, Vale, Castel, St. Saviour, St. Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, St. Martin, St. Andrew |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 16% (male 5,250; female 5,101)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,356; female 21,728) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 4,622; female 6,530) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
less than 5 sq km land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
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 | NA | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | Rich fishing grounds and the potential for gas and oil deposits have caused this archipelago to be claimed in its entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. All five parties have occupied certain islands or reefs, and occasional clashes have occurred between Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces | 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 | - | 9.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | St. Peter Port |
Climate | tropical | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 926 km | 50 km |
Constitution | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Spratly Islands |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | - | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | - | 9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
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 | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island; in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding confidence building measure | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. | 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 |
Electricity - exports | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - imports | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 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 |
Exchange rates | - | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6944 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); note - the Guernsey 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 Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) and Bailiff De Vic G. CAREY (since NA) 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 | - | $NA |
Exports - commodities | - | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | - | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | 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: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 5.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 38 N, 111 55 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | - | 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.99% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1993) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court |
Labor force | - | 31,322 (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
Languages | - | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | - | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | - | 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: 79.9 years
male: 76.91 years female: 83.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | NA | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs, of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous reefs and shoals | NA |
Natural resources | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential | cropland |
Net migration rate | - | 3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states (July 2001 est.) |
64,587 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.37% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | St. Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | - | 5 km |
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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 44,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 12,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | flat | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.36 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |