Country List | World Factbook Home
The World Factbook
| Gibraltar |

Introduction | Gibraltar

Background:

Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum held in 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. Although the current 1969 Constitution for Gibraltar states that the British government will never allow the people of Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes, a series of talks were held by the UK and Spain between 1997 and 2002 on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these talks, the Gibraltarian Government set up a referendum in late 2002 in which a majority of the citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since the referendum, tripartite talks have been held with Spain, UK, and Gibraltar.

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 land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 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: | none
Land use: | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Irrigated land: | NA
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: | 27,928 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 2,499/female 2,388) 15-64 years: 66% (male 9,443/female 8,999) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 2,059/female 2,540) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 39.8 years male: 39.4 years female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.14% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 10.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 5.06 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.8 years male: 76.92 years female: 82.83 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.65 children born/woman (2006 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, German, North Africans
Religions: | Roman Catholic 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian 3.2%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 0.9%, none 2.9% (2001 census)
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 British citizens 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)
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

Legislative branch: | unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, 1 appointed for the Speaker, and 2 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
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), UPU
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:

Self-sufficient 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): | $769 million (2000 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | NA
GDP - real growth rate: | NA%
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $27,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Labor force: | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60%
Unemployment rate: | 2% (2001 est.)
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)
Budget: | revenues: $307 million expenditures: $284 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Agriculture - products: | none
Industries: | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%
Electricity - production: | 106.1 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 98.69 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 23,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Exports: | $271 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8%
Exports - partners: | France 19.4%, Spain 14.1%, Turkmenistan 12.1%, Switzerland 11.7%, Germany 10.1%, UK 9.1%, Greece 6.8% (2004)
Imports: | $2.967 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs
Imports - partners: | Spain 19.9%, Russia 18.4%, UK 10.8%, Italy 8.8%, Germany 7.5%, US 5.1%, Sweden 4.7%, France 4.2% (2004)
Debt - external: | $NA (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $NA
Currency (code): | Gibraltar pound (GIP)
Currency code: | GIP
Exchange rates: | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001) note: the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June

Communications | Gibraltar

Telephones - main lines in use: | 24,512 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 9,797 (2002)
Telephone system: | general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: country code - 350; 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 hosts: | 629 (2005)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000)
Internet users: | 6,200 (2002)

Transportation | Gibraltar

Airports: | 1 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)
Roadways: | total: 29 km paved: 29 km (2002)

Merchant marine:

total: 160 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,110,970 GRT/1,386,556 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 1, cargo 102, chemical tanker 20, container 14, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 148 (Belgium 1, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 106, Greece 9, Iceland 1, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Latvia 2, Norway 9, Sweden 5, Taiwan 1, UK 4, US 2) (2005)

Ports and terminals: | Gibraltar

Military | Gibraltar

Military branches: | Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Transnational Issues | Gibraltar

Disputes - international: | in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; the government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar even greater autonomy

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006