| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Faroe Islands
local long form: none
local short form: Foroyar |
| Capital: |
Torshavn |
| Location: |
Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
62 00 N, 7 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 1,399 sq km
land: 1,399 sq km
water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) |
| Area
Comparative: |
eight times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
1,117 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
| Climate: |
mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy |
| Terrain: |
rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
fish, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA ( part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 ) |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 49 municipalities |
| Independence |
none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
| National
Holiday: |
Olaifest, 29 July |
| Constitution: |
5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
| Legal
System; |
Danish |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Joannes EIDESGAARD (since 3 February 2004)
cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister
elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008)
election results: Joannes EIDESGAARD elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - NA%
note: coalition of Social Democrats, Union Party, and People's Party |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - Union Party 23.7%, Social Democrats 21.8%, Republican Party 21.7%, People's Party 20.6%, Center Party 5.2%, Independence Party 4.6%; seats by party - Union Party 7, Social Democrats 7, Republican Party 8, People's Party 7, Center Party 2, Independence Party 1
note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 1, People's Party 1 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
none |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Center Party [Jenis A. RANA]; Independence Party [Helena Dam a NEYSTABO]; People's Party [Anfinn KALLSBERG]; Republican Party [Hogni HOYDAL]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Lisbeth PETERSEN] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
46,962 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 21.3% (male 4,997/female 4,999)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 16,120/female 14,360)
65 years and over: 13.8% (male 2,923/female 3,563) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 35.11 years
male: 34.64 years
female: 35.68 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective: Faroese |
| Ethnic groups: |
Scandinavian |
| Religions: |
Evangelical Lutheran |
| Languages: |
Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
23,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
30,700 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: good international communications; good domestic facilities
domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed
international: country code - 298; satellite earth stations - 1 Orion; 1 fiber-optic submarine cable to the Shetland Islands, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; fiber-optic submarine cable connection to Canada-Europe cable |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995) |
| Internet country
code: |
.fo |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
25,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 463 km
paved: 454 km
unpaved: 9 km (1999) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
|
| Merchant marine: |
Torshavn, Klaksvik, Tvoroyri, Runavik, Fuglafjordhur |
| Airports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
|
| Heliports: |
|
