Faroe Islands

Airports

1 with permanent surface runway 1,220-2,439 m

Highways

200 km

Merchant marine

7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,249 GRT/11,887 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo; note--a subset of the Danish register

Ports

Torshavn, Tvoroyri

Telecommunications

good international communications; fair domestic facilities; 27,900 telephones; stations--1 AM, 3 (10 repeaters) FM, 3 (29 repeaters) TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Branches

no organized native military forces; only a small Police Force is maintained

Note

defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Agriculture

accounts for 27% of GDP and employs 27% of labor force; principal crops--potatoes and vegetables; livestock--sheep; annual fish catch about 360,000 metric tons

Budget

revenues $442 million; expenditures $442 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Currency

Danish krone (plural--kroner); 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 ore

Economic aid

none

Electricity

80,000 kW capacity; 280 million kWh produced, 5,910 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1--5.817 (January 1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)

Exports

$343 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--fish and fish products 88%, animal feedstuffs, transport equipment; partners--Denmark 16%, UK 14%, FRG 13.4%, US 10%, France 9%, Japan 5%

External debt

$1.3 billion (1989)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GDP

$662 million, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Imports

$344 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--machinery and transport equipment 30%, manufactures 16%, food and livestock 15%, chemicals 6%, fuels 4%; partners: Denmark 44%, Norway 16%, FRG 6%, Sweden 6%, US 3%

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.0% (1988)

Overview

The Faroese, who have long been enjoying the affluent living standards of the Danes and other Scandinavians, now must cope with the decline of the all-important fishing industry and with an external debt twice the size of annual income. When the nations of the world extended their fishing zones to 200 nautical miles in the early 1970s, the Faroese no longer could continue their traditional long-distance fishing and subsequently depleted their own nearby fishing areas; one estimate foresaw a 25% drop in fish catch in 1990 alone. Half the fishing fleet is for sale, and the 22 fish-processing plants work at only half capacity. The government no longer can maintain its high level of spending on roads and tunnels, hospitals, sports facilities, and other social welfare programs.

Unemployment rate

NA%, but increasing

Climate

mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy

Coastline

764 km Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 3 nm

Comparative area

slightly less than eight times the size of Washington, DC

Environment

precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 98%

Natural resources

fish

Note

strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands

Terrain

rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast

Total area

1,400 km2; land area: 1,400 km2

Administrative divisions

none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Capital

Torshavn

Communists

insignificant number

Constitution

Danish

Diplomatic representation

none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Executive branch

Danish monarch, high commissioner, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet (Landsstyri)

Flag

white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

Independence

part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark

Judicial branch

none Chief of State--Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA); Head of Government--Prime Minister Atli P. DAM (since 15 January 1991) two-party ruling coalition--Social Democratic Party, Atli P. DAM; People's Party, Jogvan SUNDSTEIN; opposition--Cooperation Coalition Party, Pauli ELLEFSEN; Republican Party, Signer HANSEN; Progressive and Fishing Industry Party-Christian People's Party (PFIP-CPP), leader NA; Progress Party, leader NA; Home Rule Party, Hilmar KASS

Legal system

Danish

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (Logting)

Long-form name

none

National holiday

Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Suffrage

universal at age 20 Faroese Parliament--last held 17 November 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results--Social Democratic 27.4%, People's Party 21.9%, Cooperation Coalition Party 18.9%, Republican Party 14.7%, Home Rule 8.8%, PFIP-CPP 5.9%, other 2.4%; seats--(32 total) two-party coalition 17 (Social Democratic 10, People's Party 7), Cooperation Coalition Party 6, Republican Party 4, Home Rule 3, PFIP-CPP 2; Danish Parliament--last held on 12 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(2 total) Social Democratic 1, People's Party 1; note--the Faroe Islands elects two representatives to the Danish Parliament

Type

part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark

Birth rate

17 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous Scandinavian population

Infant mortality rate

9 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

17,585; largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and commerce

Language

Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Life expectancy at birth

75 years male, 81 years female (1991)

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

Nationality

noun--Faroese (sing., pl.); adjective--Faroese

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

NA

Population

48,151 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)

Religion

Evangelical Lutheran

Total fertility rate

2.2 children born/woman (1991)