| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar |
| Capital: |
Gibraltar |
| 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 8 N, 5 21 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 |
| 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
none |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA |
| Administratives
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)
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
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 |
| 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] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
27,884 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 17.8% (male 2,529/female 2,426)
15-64 years: 66% (male 9,442/female 8,970)
65 years and over: 16.2% (male 2,008/female 2,509) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 39.4 years
male: 39.12 years
female: 39.63 years (2005 est.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
24,512 (2002) |
| 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) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.gi |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
6,200 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 29 km
paved: 29 km
unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Gibraltar |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 161 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 2, cargo 96, chemical tanker 21, container 22, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 142 (Belgium 1, Cyprus 1, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 105, Greece 12, Iceland 1, Ireland 1, Italy 1, Latvia 1, Norway 8, Sweden 2, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 1, United Kingdom 3, United States 2) (2005) |
| Airports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
|
| Heliports: |
|
