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Background:
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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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Location:
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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:
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36 8 N, 5
21 W |
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Map references:
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Europe
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Area:
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total:
6.5 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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about 11
times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1.2 km
border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
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Coastline:
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12 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 3 nm |
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Climate:
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Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers |
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Terrain:
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a narrow
coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
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Natural resources:
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none |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km
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Natural hazards:
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NA |
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Environment - current issues:
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limited
natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural
rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used
for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant |
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Geography - note:
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strategic
location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North
Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
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Population:
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27,884
(July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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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.) |
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Median age:
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total:
39.4 years
male: 39.12 years
female: 39.63 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.17%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.87
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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9.18
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
5.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 79.67 years
male: 76.8 years
female: 82.7 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.65
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar |
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Ethnic groups:
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Spanish,
Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North
Africans |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian
3.2%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or
unspecified 0.9%, none 2.9% (2001 census) |
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Languages:
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English
(used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese |
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Literacy:
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definition: NA
total population: above 80%
male: NA%
female: NA% |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar |
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Dependency status:
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overseas
territory of the UK |
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Government type:
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NA |
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Capital:
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Gibraltar
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Administrative divisions:
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none
(overseas territory of the UK) |
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Independence:
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none
(overseas territory of the UK) |
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National holiday:
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National
Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national
referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go
with Spain |
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Constitution:
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30 May
1969 |
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Legal system:
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English
law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been
residents six months or more |
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Executive branch:
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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 |
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Legislative branch:
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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 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme
Court; Court of Appeal |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Gibraltar
Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social
Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist
Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Chamber
of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization;
Women's Association |
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International organization participation:
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Interpol
(subbureau), UPU |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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none
(overseas territory of the UK) |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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none
(overseas territory of the UK) |
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Flag description:
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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 |
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Economy - overview:
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Self-sufficient 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):
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$769
million (2000 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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NA% |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $27,900 (2000 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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14,800
(including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60% |
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Unemployment rate:
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2% (2001
est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.5%
(1998) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital
expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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none |
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Industries:
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tourism,
banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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104
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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96.76
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh
(2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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42,000
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Exports:
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$136
million f.o.b. (2002) |
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Exports - commodities:
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(principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured
goods 41%, other 8% |
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Exports - partners:
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France
19.4%, Spain 14.1%, Turkmenistan 12.1%, Switzerland
11.7%, Germany 10.1%, UK 9.1%, Greece 6.8% (2004) |
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Imports:
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$1.743
billion c.i.f. (2002) |
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Imports - commodities:
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fuels,
manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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Spain
19.9%, Russia 18.4%, UK 10.8%, Italy 8.8%, Germany 7.5%,
US 5.1%, Sweden 4.7%, France 4.2% (2004) |
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Debt - external:
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$NA (2000
est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA |
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Currency (code):
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Gibraltar
pound (GIP) |
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Currency code:
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GIP |
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Exchange rates:
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Gibraltar
pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003),
0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Gibraltar pound is at par with the
British pound |
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Fiscal year:
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1 July -
30 June |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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24,512
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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9,797
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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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) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 1, FM
5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Radios:
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37,000
(1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (plus
three low-power repeaters) (1997) |
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Televisions:
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10,000
(1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.gi |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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2 (2000)
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Internet users:
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6,200
(2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
29 km
paved: 29 km
unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Gibraltar
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Merchant marine:
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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) |
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Airports:
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1 (2004
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Royal
Gibraltar Regiment |
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Military - note:
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defense
is the responsibility of the UK; the last British
regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced
by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
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Disputes - international:
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in 2003,
Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum
to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation
in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of
UK plans to grant Gibraltar even greater autonomy |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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