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Flag of Gibraltar
Map of Gibraltar
Introduction Gibraltar
Background:
 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.
Geography 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
Map references:
 Europe
Area:
 total: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 6.5 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
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m
Natural resources:
 NEGL
Land use:
 arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 NA sq km
Natural hazards:
 NA
Environment - current issues:
 limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant
Geography - note:
 strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
People Gibraltar
Population:
 27,776 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 2,593; female 2,482)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 9,458; female 8,946)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male 1,873; female 2,424) (2003 est.)
Median age:
 total: 38.8 years
male: 38.6 years
female: 39 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
 0.22% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
 11.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
 at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
 total: 5.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 5.92 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 79.38 years
male: 76.51 years
female: 82.4 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
 NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
 NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
 NA
Nationality:
 noun: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar
Ethnic groups:
 Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese
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
Literacy:
 definition: NA
total population: above 80%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Gibraltar
Country name:
 conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar
Dependency status:
 overseas territory of the UK
Government type:
 NA
Capital:
 Gibraltar
Administrative 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)
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
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
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 NA 2007)
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]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
 Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association
International organization participation:
 Interpol (subbureau)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
 none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
 none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description:
 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
Economy Gibraltar
Economy - overview:
 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.
GDP:
 purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
 NA%
GDP - per capita:
 purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
 agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Population below poverty line:
 NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
 lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
 1.5% (1998)
Labor force:
 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers)
Labor force - by occupation:
 services 60%, industry 40%, agriculture NEGL%
Unemployment rate:
 2% (2001 est.)
Budget:
 revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.)
Industries:
 tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate:
 NA%
Electricity - production:
 100 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
 fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
 93 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
 42,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
 NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
 NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
 none
Exports:
 $81.1 million f.o.b. (1997)
Exports - commodities:
 (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8%
Exports - partners:
 UK 27.7%, Switzerland 14.3%, Germany 12%, France 6.9%, Spain 6.1%, Turkmenistan 5%, Ukraine 4.6% (2002)
Imports:
 $492 million c.i.f. (1997)
Imports - commodities:
 fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
 Germany 27.3%, Spain 21.8%, UK 12.1%, Italy 8% (2002)
Debt - external:
 $NA
Economic aid - recipient:
 $NA; note - if an agreement between Spain and the UK is reached, could receive 50 million euros from the EU
Currency:
 Gibraltar pound (GIP)
Currency code:
 GIP
Exchange rates:
 Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year:
 1 July - 30 June
Communications Gibraltar
Telephones - main lines in use:
 19,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
 1,620 (1997)
Telephone system:
 general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities
international: radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
 AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
 37,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
 10,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
 .gi
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
 2 (2000)
Internet users:
 NA
Transportation Gibraltar
Highways:
 total: 29 km
paved: 29 km
unpaved: 0 km (2002)
Waterways:
 none
Pipelines:
 0 km
Ports and harbors:
 Gibraltar
Merchant marine:
 total: 114 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,008,140 GRT/1,435,595 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, Cyprus 1, France 2, Germany 55, Greece 6, Ireland 1, Monaco 2, Norway 3, United Kingdom 13 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 58, chemical tanker 14, container 20, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2
Airports:
 1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
 total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
Military Gibraltar
Military branches:
 no regular indigenous military forces; British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force
Military - note:
 defense is the responsibility of the UK
Transnational Issues Gibraltar
Disputes - international:
 Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against "total shared sovereignty" arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony