Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0079
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Faroe Islands
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Faroe Islands 
 
 
                               Faroe Islands
 
 
                                  Header
 
Affiliation:
     (part of the Danish realm)
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Nordic States, Northern Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean, located
     half way between Norway and Iceland
Map references:
     Arctic Region
Area:
total area:
     1,400 sq km
land area:
     1,400 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than eight times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     764 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     3 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy
Terrain:
     rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast
Natural resources:
     fish
Land use:
arable land:
     2%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     0%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     98%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
     NA
natural hazards:
     NA
 
 
international agreements:
     NA
Note:
     archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets;
     strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern
     Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal
     lowlands
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     48,427 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.83% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     17.97 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     7.56 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -2.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     8.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     78.1 years
male:
     74.71 years
female:
     81.62 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.47 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective:
     Faroese
Ethnic divisions:
     Scandinavian
Religions:
     Evangelical Lutheran
Languages:
     Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Literacy:
total population:
     NA%
male:
     NA%
female:
     NA%
Labor force:
     17,585
by occupation:
     largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and
     commerce
 
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
local long form:
     none
local short form:
     Foroyar
Digraph:
     FO
Type:
     part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative
     division of Denmark
Capital:
     Torshavn
Administrative divisions:
     none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Independence:
     none (part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative
     division of Denmark)
National holiday:
     Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Constitution:
     5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Legal system:
     Danish
Suffrage:
     20 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by High
     Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Marita PETERSEN (since 18 January 1993)
cabinet:
     Landsstyri; elected by the local legislature
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
Faroese Parliament (Lgting):
     elections 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:
     elections 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
Judicial branch:
     none
 
 
Political parties and leaders:
three-party ruling coalition:
     Social Democratic Party, Marita PETERSEN; Republican Party, Signer
     HANSEN; Home Rule Party, Hilmar KASS
opposition:
     Cooperation Coalition Party, Pauli ELLEFSEN; Progressive and Fishing
     Industry Party-Christian People's Party (PFIP-CPP), leader NA;
     Progress Party, leader NA; People's Party, Jogvan SUND-STEIN
Member of:
     none
Diplomatic representation in US:
     none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
US diplomatic representation:
     none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
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)
 
                                  Economy
 
Overview:
     The Faroese, who have long enjoyed the affluent living standards of
     the Danes and other Scandinavians, now must cope with the decline of
     the all-important fishing industry and one of the world's heaviest per
     capita external debts of nearly $30,000. 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. The
     government's tight controls on fish stocks and its austerity measures
     have caused a recession, and subsidy cuts will force nationalization
     in the fishing industry, which has already been plagued with
     bankruptcies. Copenhagen has threatened to withhold its annual subsidy
     of $130 million - roughly one-third of the islands' budget revenues -
     unless the Faroese make significant efforts to balance their budget.
     To this extent the Faroe government is expected to continue its tough
     policies, including introducing a 20% value-added tax (VAT) in 1993,
     and has agreed to an IMF economic-political stabilization plan. In
     addition to its annual subsidy, the Danish government has bailed out
     the second largest Faroe bank to the tune of $140 million since
     October 1992.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $662 million (1989 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     3% (1989 est.)
National product per capita:
     $14,000 (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     2% (1988)
Unemployment rate:
     2.5% (1993 est)
Budget:
revenues:
     $425 million
 
 
expenditures:
     $480 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Exports:
     $386 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
     fish and fish products 88%, animal feedstuffs, transport equipment
     (ships) (1989)
partners:
     Denmark 20%, Germany 18.3%, UK 14.2%, France 11.2%, Spain 7.9%, US
     4.5%
Imports:
     $322 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
     machinery and transport equipment 24.4%, manufactures 24%, food and
     livestock 19%, fuels 12%, chemicals 6.5%
partners:
     Denmark 43.8%, Norway 19.8%, Sweden 4.9%, Germany 4.2%, US 1.3%
External debt:
     $1.3 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
     growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
     80,000 kW
production:
     280 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     5,760 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts
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
Economic aid:
recipient:
     receives an annual subsidy from Denmark of about $130 million
Currency:
     1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates:
     Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.771 (January 1994), 6.484 (1993),
     6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     1 April - 31 March
 
                              Communications
 
Highways:
total:
     200 km
paved:
     NA
unpaved:
     NA
 
 
Ports:
     Torshavn, Tvoroyri
Merchant marine:
     7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,943 GRT/18,399 DWT, cargo 5,
     roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
note:
     a subset of the Danish register
Airports:
total:
     1
usable:
     1
with permanent-surface runways:
     1
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     1
Telecommunications:
     good international communications; fair domestic facilities; 27,900
     telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 3 (10 repeaters) FM, 3 (29
     repeaters) TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     small Police Force, no organized native military forces
Note:
     defense is the responsibility of Denmark
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.