JERSEY
(British crown dependency)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 117 km2; land area: 117 km2
Comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 70 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: temperate; mild winters and cool summers
Terrain: gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north
coast
Natural resources: agricultural land
Land use: arable land NA%; permanent crops NA%; meadows and
pastures NA%; forest and woodland NA%; other NA%; about 58% of land under
cultivation
Environment: about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier
Note: largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; 27 km
from France
PEOPLE
Population: 84,331 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 6 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: 1.3 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Channel Islander(s); adjective--Channel Islander
Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent
Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New
Church, Methodist, Presbyterian
Language: English and French (official), with the 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: none
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Bailiwick of Jersey
Type: British crown dependency
Capital: Saint Helier
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
National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)
Executive branch: British monarch, lieutenant governor, 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 and Commander in Chief
Air Marshal Sir John SUTTON (since NA 1990); Bailiff Peter CRILL (since
NA)
Political parties and leaders: none; all independents
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections:
Assembly of the States--last held NA (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(56 total, 52 elected) 52 independents
Communists: probably none
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)
Flag: white with the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron
saint of Ireland) extending to the corners of the flag
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy is based largely on financial services,
agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially
flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey
breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important
export earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EC countries. In 1986
the finance sector overtook tourism as the main contributor to GDP,
accounting for 40% of the island's output. In recent years the government
has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that
an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional
manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are
imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs.
GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 8% (1987 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $308.0 million; expenditures $284.4 million,
including capital expenditures of NA (1985)
Exports: $NA;
commodities--light industrial and electrical goods,
foodstuffs, textiles;
partners--UK
Imports: $NA;
commodities--machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals;
partners--UK
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 50,000 kW standby capacity (1990); power supplied by
France
Industries: tourism, banking and finance, dairy
Agriculture: potatoes, cauliflowers, tomatoes; dairy and cattle
farming
Economic aid: none
Currency: Jersey pound (plural--pounds); 1 Jersey pound (LJ) =
100 pence
Exchange rates: Jersey pounds (LJ) 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); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Ports: Saint Helier, Gorey, Saint Aubin
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m (Saint
Peter)
Telecommunications: 63,700 telephones; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1
TV; 3 submarine cables
DEFENSE FORCES
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK