| 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 a 1967 referendum,
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 11 N, 5 22 W |
| Area: |
total:
6.5 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
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 |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (1993 est.) |
| Environment
- current issues: |
limited natural
freshwater resources; large concrete or natural rock water
catchments collect rainwater |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic
location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North
Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
| Population: |
27,649 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
18.73% (male 2,652; female 2,528)
15-64 years: 66.33% (male 9,473; female 8,866)
65 years and over: 14.94% (male 1,733; female
2,397) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.24% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
11.25
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.82 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
NEGL migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
5.49 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 79.09 years
male: 76.23 years
female: 82.1 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.64 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
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, Russian |
| 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 |
| Administrative
divisions: |
none (overseas
territory of the UK) |
| Independence: |
none (overseas
territory of the UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Commonwealth Day,
second Monday of March |
| 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 David DURIE
(since 5 April 2000); note - DURIE was appointed in February
2000 but took office in April 2000
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; note -
there is also a Gibraltar Council that advises the governor
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary;
governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister appointed
by the governor |
| 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 10 February 2000 (next to
be held NA 2004)
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 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; Housewives
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 11% to the local economy. The financial
sector accounts for 20% of GDP; tourism (almost 6 million
visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on
consumer goods also generate revenue. 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% |
| 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) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 60%,
industry 40%, agriculture NEGL% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
13.5% (1996) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism, banking
and finance, ship-building and repairing; support to large
UK naval and air bases; tobacco, mineral water, beer, canned
fish |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
95 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
88.4 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
none |
| Exports: |
$81.1 million
(f.o.b., 1997) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
(principally
reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% |
| Exports
- partners: |
UK, Morocco,
Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, Germany |
| Imports: |
$492 million
(c.i.f., 1997) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
fuels,
manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
| Imports
- partners: |
UK, Spain, Japan,
Netherlands |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA |
| Currency: |
Gibraltar pound (GIP) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Gibraltar pounds
per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180
(1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note -
the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 July - 30 June |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
19,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
1,620 (1997) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system
and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities
international: radiotelephone; microwave radio
relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 5,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (plus three
low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
10,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gi |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
2 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only |
| Highways: |
total:
46.25 km
paved: 46.25 km
unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Gibraltar |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 669,056 GRT/1,003,809
DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, chemical
tanker 6, container 7, multi-functional large-load carrier
3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 1
(2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
British Army,
Royal Navy, Royal Air Force |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the
responsibility of the UK |
| Disputes
- international: |
source of
friction between Spain and the UK |
|
