Svalbard (2004) | Guernsey (2008) | |
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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 Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
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 | 4 (2003 est.) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
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 smaller than West Virginia | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $563.6 million
expenditures: $530.9 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Longyearbyen | 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 | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 3,587 km | 50 km |
Constitution | - | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. | 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 | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
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 | $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 Norway 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 | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 78 00 N, 20 00 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area | 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 |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | - | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | - | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Norway) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | NA | 3.4% (June 2006) |
International organization participation | none | UPU |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Royal Court |
Labor force | NA | 31,470 (March 2006) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2001) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | Norwegian, Russian | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | NA | 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 80.53 years
male: 77.53 years female: 83.64 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Arctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | none | - |
Military - note | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | NA | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic | NA |
Natural resources | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish | cropland |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | 2,756 (July 2004 est.) | 65,573 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.02% (2004 est.) | 0.239% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 45,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) |