GUERNSEY
(British crown dependency)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 194 km2; land area: 194 km2; includes Alderney,
Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands
Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 50 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of
days are overcast
Terrain: mostly level with low hills in southwest
Natural resources: cropland
Land use: arable land NA%; permanent crops NA%; meadows and
pastures NA%; forest and woodland NA%; other NA%; cultivated about 50%
Environment: large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port
Note: 52 km west of France
PEOPLE
Population: 57,596 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Channel Islander(s); adjective--Channel Islander
Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent
Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist,
Congregational, Methodist
Language: English, French; Norman-French dialect spoken in country
districts
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%) but compulsory education
age 5 to 16
Labor force: NA
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Bailiwick of Guernsey
Type: British crown dependency
Capital: Saint Peter Port
Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)
Independence: none (British crown dependency)
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice
Legal system: English law and local statute; justice is
administered by the Royal Court
National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)
Executive branch: British monarch, lieutenant governor, bailiff,
deputy bailiff
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the States
Judicial branch: Royal Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government--Lieutenant Governor Lt. Gen. Sir Michael
WILKINS (since 1990); Bailiff Sir Charles FROSSARD (since 1982)
Political parties and leaders: none; all independents
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Assembly of the States--last held NA (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(60 total, 33 elected), all independents
Communists: none
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)
Flag: white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of
England) extending to the edges of the flag
ECONOMY
Overview: Tourism is a major source of revenue. Other economic
activity includes financial services, breeding the world-famous
Guernsey cattle, and growing tomatoes and flowers for export.
GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 9% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $208.9 million; expenditures $173.9 million,
including capital expenditures of NA (1988)
Exports: $NA;
commodities--tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant,
other vegetables;
partners--UK (regarded as internal trade)
Imports: $NA;
commodities--coal, gasoline and oil;
partners--UK (regarded as internal trade)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 173,000 kW capacity; 525 million kWh produced,
9,340 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism, banking
Agriculture: tomatoes, flowers (mostly grown in greenhouses),
sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables and fruit; Guernsey cattle
Economic aid: none
Currency: Guernsey pound (plural--pounds);
1 Guernsey (LG) pound = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Guernsey pounds (LG) per US$1--0.5171 (January
1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817
(1986), 0.7714 (1985); note--the Guernsey pound is at par with the
British pound
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Ports: Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson
Airport: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m (La
Villiaze)
Telecommunications: stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 41,900
telephones; 1 submarine cable
DEFENSE FORCES
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK