CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Gibraltar
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Gibraltar | 
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| Introduction | 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. |
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| Geography | Gibraltar |
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| Location: | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain |
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| 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: | 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% (2001) |
| 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 |
| People | Gibraltar |
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| Population: | 27,833 (July 2004 est.) |
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| 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, German, North Africans |
| 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 |
| Government | Gibraltar |
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| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gibraltar |
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| 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 February 2008) 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), UPU |
| 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 | Gibraltar |
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| 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. |
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| 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: | agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60% |
| Unemployment rate: | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $307 million expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | none |
| Industries: | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco |
| Industrial production growth rate: | NA |
| Electricity - production: | 100 million kWh (2001) |
| 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 (2001) |
| Oil - imports: | NA (2001) |
| Exports: | $136 million f.o.b. (2002) |
| Exports - commodities: | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 25.6%, France 24.8%, UK 14.3%, Turkmenistan 9.4%, Switzerland 7.5%, Spain 5.6% (2003) |
| Imports: | $1.743 billion c.i.f. (2002) |
| Imports - commodities: | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners: | Spain 26.5%, UK 14.8%, Russia 8.2%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 6.5%, France 5.3%, Germany 4.6%, Romania 4.2% (2003) |
| 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 |
| Communications | Gibraltar |
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| Telephones - main lines in use: | 24,512 (2002) |
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| 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) |
| Transportation | Gibraltar |
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| Highways: | total: 29 km paved: 29 km unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
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| Ports and harbors: | Gibraltar |
| Merchant marine: | total: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT 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 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) 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 |
| Airports: | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Military | Gibraltar |
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| Military branches: | Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
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| 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 |
This page was last updated on 1 January 2003
This is a snapshot of the CIA World Fact Book as it existed on 26 March 2005