Faroe Islands

Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Iceland and Norway

62.00° N, 7.00° W

total: 1,393 sq km

land: 1,393 sq km

water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams)

eight times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

1,117 km

territorial sea: 3 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line

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

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

mean elevation:

elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m

fish, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas

agricultural land: 2.1%

arable land 2.1%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0%

forest: 0.1%

other: 97.8% (2011 est.)

NA

NA

party to: Marine Dumping - associate member to the London Convention and Ship Pollution

archipelago of 17 inhabited islands and one uninhabited island, and a few uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands

noun: Faroese (singular and plural)

adjective: Faroese

Scandinavian

Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Evangelical Lutheran 83.8%, other and unspecified 16.2% (2006 census)

50,196 (July 2015 est.)

0-14 years: 20.1% (male 5,224/female 4,866)

15-24 years: 14.96% (male 3,848/female 3,662)

25-54 years: 37.04% (male 10,090/female 8,502)

55-64 years: 11.73% (male 3,033/female 2,854)

65 years and over: 16.17% (male 3,926/female 4,191) (2015 est.)

total: 37.7 years

male: 37.1 years

female: 38.4 years (2015 est.)

0.51% (2015 est.)

13.77 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

8.71 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

urban population: 42% of total population (2015)

rate of urbanization: 0.47% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

TORSHAVN (capital) 21,000 (2014)

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.19 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female

total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

total: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.86 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 5.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)

total population: 80.24 years

male: 77.73 years

female: 82.93 years (2015 est.)

2.37 children born/woman (2015 est.)

4.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)

NA

NA

NA

conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Faroe Islands

local long form: none

local short form: Foroyar

etymology: the archipelgo's name may derive from the Old Norse word "faer," meaning sheep

NA

name: Torshavn

geographic coordinates: 62.00° N, 6.46° W

time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 34 municipalities

none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Olaifest (Olavsoka), 29 July

5 June 1953 (Danish Constitution), 23 March 1948 (Home Rule Act), and 24 June 2005 (Takeover Act) serve as the Faroe Islands constitutional position in the Unity of the Realm (2015)

the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply

see Denmark

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Dan Michael KNUDSEN, chief administrative officer (since 2008)

head of government: Prime Minister Aksel V. JOHANNESEN (since 15 September 2015)

cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held on 14 November 2011 (next to be held no later than November 2015)

election results: Aksel V. JOHANNESEN elected prime minister; Parliament vote - NA

description: unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (33 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 1 September 2015 (next to be held no later than September 2019); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Social Democratic Party 1, Republic 1

elections: last held on 1 September 2015 (next to be held no later than October 2019)

election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic Party 25.1%, Republic 20.7%, People's Party, 18.9%, Union Party 18.7%, Progressive Party 7.0%, Center Party 5.5%, Self-Government Party 4.1%; seats by party - Social Democratic Party 8, Republic 7, People's Party 6, Union Party 6, Progressive Party 2, Center Party 2, Self-Government Party 2

the Faroese Court or Raett (Rett - Danish) decides both civil and criminal cases; the Court is part of the Danish legal system

Center Party (Midflokkurin) [Jenis av RANA]

Independence (or Self-Govenment) Party (Sjalvstyrisflokkurin) [Jogvan SKORHEIM]

People's Party (Folkaflokkurin) [Jorgen NICLASEN]

Progressive Party (Framsokn) [Poul MICHELSEN]

Republic (Tjodveldi) (formerly the Republican Party) [Hogni HOYDAL]

Self-Government Party [Kari P. HOJGAARD]

Social Democratic Party (Javnadarflokkurin) [Aksel JOHANNESEN]

Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin) [Kaj Leo JOHANNESEN]

other: conservationists

Arctic Council, IMO (associate), NC, NIB, UNESCO (associate), UPU

white with a red cross outlined in blue extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted toward the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag); referred to as Merkid, meaning "the banner" or "the mark," the flag resembles those of neighboring Iceland and Norway, and uses the same three colors - but in a different sequence; white represents the clear Faroese sky as well as the foam of the waves; red and blue are traditional Faroese colors

ram; national colors: red, white, blue

name: "Mitt alfagra land" (My Fairest Land)

lyrics/music: Simun av SKAROI/Peter ALBERG

note: adopted 1948; the anthem is also known as "Tu alfagra land mitt" (Thou Fairest Land of Mine); as an autonomous overseas division of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are permitted their own national anthem

The Faroese economy is dependent on fishing, which makes the economy vulnerable to price fluctuations. The sector normally accounts for about 95% of exports and nearly half of GDP. Initial discoveries of oil in the Faroese area give hope for eventual oil production, which may provide a foundation for a more diversified economy and less dependence on Danish economic assistance. Aided by an annual subsidy from Denmark amounting to about 3% of Faroese GDP, the Faroese have a standard of living almost equal to that of Denmark and Greenland.

$1.471 billion (2010 est.)

$1.389 billion (2008 est.)

$2.32 billion (2010 est.)

2.9% (2010 est.)

0.5% (2008 est.)

$30,500 (2008 est.)

agriculture: 16%

industry: 29%

services: 55% (2007 est.)

milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish

fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment, handicrafts

3.4% (2009 est.)

25,000 (November 2010)

agriculture: 10.7%

industry: 18.9%

services: 70.3% (November 2010)

2.2% (2012)

3.1% (2011)

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

revenues: $1.025 billion

expenditures: $1.301 billion

note: Denmark supplies the Faroe Islands with almost one-third of their public funds (2010 est.)

44.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

-11.9% of GDP (2010 est.)

calendar year

2.3% (2011)

0.4% (2010)

$824 million (2010)

$767 million (2009)

fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (2009 est.)

UK 21.8%, Denmark 18.8%, Russia 11.9%, Nigeria 10.9%, US 9.5%, China 7.2%, Netherlands 6% (2014)

$776 million (2010)

$786 million (2009)

goods for household consumption, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials and semi-manufactures, salt

Denmark 45.5%, Norway 27.7%, Germany 5%, Iceland 4.4%, Sweden 4.1% (2014)

$888.8 million (2010)

$68.1 million (2006)

Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar -

6.59 (2011)

5.37 (2011)

5.37 (2011)

5.79 (2012 est.)

5.37 (2011 est.)

281 million kWh (2012 est.)

261.3 million kWh (2012 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

108,100 kW (2012 est.)

60.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

36.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

3.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2012 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2012 est.)

4,900 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2012 est.)

4,879 bbl/day (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

753,400 Mt (2012 est.)

total subscriptions: 17,300

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2014 est.)

total: 61,400

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 123 (2014 est.)

general assessment: good international communications; good domestic facilities

domestic: conversion to digital system completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed

international: country code - 298; satellite earth stations - 1 Orion; 1 fiber-optic submarine cable to the Shetland Islands, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; fiber-optic submarine cable connection to Canada-Europe cable (2011)

1 publicly owned TV station; the Faroese telecommunications company distributes local and international channels through its digital terrestrial network; publicly owned radio station supplemented by 2 privately owned stations broadcasting over multiple frequencies (2008)

AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

3 (plus 43 repeaters) (September 1995)

.fo

7,575 (2012)

total: 44,000

percent of population: 88.2% (2014 est.)

1 (2013)

total: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)

total: 463 km (2006)

total: 37

by type: cargo 20, chemical tanker 7, container 2, passenger/cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned: 28 (Iceland 4, Norway 13, Sweden 11) (2010)

major seaport(s): Fuglafjordur, Torshavn, Vagur

no regular military forces (2012)

because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full independence have been deferred; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm