Legend:
 Definition
 Field Listing
 Rank Order
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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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Population:
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27,833 (July 2004 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 18% (male 2,554; female 2,452)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 9,460; female 8,965)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 1,939; female 2,463) (2004 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 39 years
male: 38.8 years
female: 39.2 years (2004 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.19% (2004 est.)
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Birth rate:
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10.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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Death rate:
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9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 5.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.81 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 79.52 years
male: 76.65 years
female: 82.54 years (2004 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.65 children born/woman (2004 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 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991)
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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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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:
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purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 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 - $17,500 (1997 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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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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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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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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100 million kWh (2001)
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Electricity - consumption:
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93 million kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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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 (2001)
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001)
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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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Germany 25.6%, France 24.8%, UK 14.3%, Turkmenistan 9.4%, Switzerland 7.5%, Spain 5.6% (2003)
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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 26.5%, UK 14.8%, Russia 8.2%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 6.5%, France 5.3%, Germany 4.6%, Romania 4.2% (2003)
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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:
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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 - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound
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Fiscal year:
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1 July - 30 June
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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: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, container 27, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 3, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, France 1, Germany 92, Greece 11, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 1, Monaco 4, Norway 6, Spain 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 2
registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
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Airports:
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1 (2003 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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Disputes - international:
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since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year-old UK colony have stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy
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This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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