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