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Facts & Information For Gibraltar
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| Background: | Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In referendums held in 1967 and 2002, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. | Location: | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain | Geographic coordinates: | 36 8 N, 5 21 W | Map references: | Europe | Area: | total: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km | Area - comparative: | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | Land boundaries: | total: 1.2 km
border countries: Spain 1.2 km | Coastline: | 12 km | Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions): | territorial sea: 3 NM | Climate: | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers | Terrain: | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar | Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m | Natural resources: | none | Land use: | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.) | Irrigated land: | NA sq km | Natural hazards: | NA | Environment - current issues: | limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant | Geography - note: | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea | Population: | 27,833 (July 2004 est.) | Age structure: | 0-14 years: 18% (male 2,554; female 2,452)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 9,460; female 8,965)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 1,939; female 2,463) (2004 est.) | Median age: | total: 39 years
male: 38.8 years
female: 39.2 years (2004 est.) | Population growth rate: | 0.19% (2004 est.) | Birth rate: | 10.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | Death rate: | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) | Infant mortality rate: | total: 5.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.81 deaths/1,000 live births | Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.52 years
male: 76.65 years
female: 82.54 years (2004 est.) | Total fertility rate: | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) | HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA% | HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA | HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA | Nationality: | noun: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar | Ethnic groups: | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese | Religions: | Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991) | Languages: | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese | Literacy: | definition: NA
total population: above 80%
male: NA%
female: NA% | Country name: | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar | Dependency status: | overseas territory of the UK | Government type: | NA | Capital: | Gibraltar | Administrative divisions: | none (overseas territory of the UK) | Independence: | none (overseas territory of the UK) | National holiday: | National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go with Spain | Constitution: | 30 May 1969 | Legal system: | English law | Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more | Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief Sir Francis RICHARDS (since 27 May 2003)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor
head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister | Legislative branch: | unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, one appointed for the Speaker, and two ex officio members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2003 (next to be held not later than NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 | Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Political parties and leaders: | Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] | Political pressure groups and leaders: | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association | International organization participation: | Interpol (subbureau) | Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) | Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) | Flag description: | two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band | Economy - overview: | Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment. | GDP: | purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.) | GDP - real growth rate: | NA% | GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.) | GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (2002 est.) | Population below poverty line: | NA% | Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% | Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 1.5% (1998) | Labor force: | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999) | Labor force - by occupation: | services 60%, industry 40%, agriculture NEGL% | Unemployment rate: | 2% (2001 est.) | Budget: | revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) | Industries: | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco | Industrial production growth rate: | NA% | Electricity - production: | 100 million kWh (2001) | Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% | Electricity - consumption: | 93 million kWh (2001) | Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001) | Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001) | Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) | Oil - consumption: | 42,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) | Oil - exports: | NA | Oil - imports: | NA | Agriculture - products: | none | Exports: | $136 million f.o.b. (2002) | Exports - commodities: | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% | Exports - partners: | Switzerland 28.7%, UK 22.8%, Germany 9.6%, France 5.9%, Hong Kong 5.1%, Spain 5.1%, Turkmenistan 4.4% (2002) | Imports: | $1.743 billion c.i.f. (2002) | Imports - commodities: | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs | Imports - partners: | Germany 27.5%, Spain 21.9%, UK 12.2%, Italy 8% (2002) | Debt - external: | $NA (2000 est.) | Economic aid - recipient: | $NA | Currency: | Gibraltar pound (GIP) | Currency code: | GIP | Exchange rates: | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound | Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June | Telephones - main lines in use: | 24,512 (2002) | Telephones - mobile cellular: | 9,797 (2002) | Telephone system: | general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities
international: country code - 350; radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) | Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | Radios: | 37,000 (1997) | Television broadcast stations: | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) | Televisions: | 10,000 (1997) | Internet country code: | .gi | Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000) | Internet users: | 6,200 (2002) | Highways: | total: 29 km
paved: 29 km
unpaved: 0 km (2002) | Waterways: | none | Pipelines: | 0 km | Ports and harbors: | Gibraltar | Merchant marine: | total: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 3, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, France 1, Germany 92, Greece 11, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 1, Monaco 4, Norway 6, Spain 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 2
registered in other countries: 4 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 3, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, container 27, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 | Airports: | 1 (2003 est.) | Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2003 est.) | Military branches: | Royal Gibraltar Regiment | Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment | Disputes - international: | since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year-old UK colony have stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy |
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Source: The CIA World Factbook 2004
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