Tokelau (2002) | Guernsey (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | 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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (1996 est.) |
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 | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2001) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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 | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 9.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 |
revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center | St. Peter Port |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 101 km | 50 km |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 | $NA |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | from New Zealand about $4 million annually | $NA |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | 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 | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - imports | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | NA |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian | UK and Norman-French descent |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) | 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); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
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 | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | NZ | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand 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 - $1.5 million (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | NZ | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | 38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.99% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | Royal Court |
Labor force | NA | 31,322 (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono | 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: NA years
male: 68 years (2001) female: 70 years (2001) |
total population: 79.9 years
male: 76.91 years female: 83.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL | cropland |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 1,431 (July 2002 est.) | 64,587 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.92% (2002 est.) | 0.37% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | St. Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | NA |
Railways | 0 km | 5 km |
Religions | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 44,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | 12,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.36 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |