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The World Factbook 2002
| Jersey |

Introduction | Jersey

Background: | The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II.

Geography | Jersey

Location: | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France
Geographic coordinates: | 49 15 N, 2 10 W
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 116 sq km
Area - comparative: | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 70 km
Maritime claims: | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Climate: | temperate; mild winters and cool summers
Terrain: | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 143 m
Natural resources: | arable land
Land use: | arable land: NEGL% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | NA sq km
Natural hazards: | NA
Environment - current issues: | NA
Geography - note: | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier

People | Jersey

Population: | 89,775 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17.9% (male 8,287; female 7,729) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 30,099; female 30,347) 65 years and over: 14.8% (male 5,729; female 7,584) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.44% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 10.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 5.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 78.78 years female: 81.4 years (2002 est.) male: 76.34 years
Total fertility rate: | 1.57 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander
Ethnic groups: | UK and Norman-French descent
Religions: | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian
Languages: | English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
Literacy: | definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

Government | Jersey

Country name: | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Jersey conventional short form: Jersey
Dependency status: | British crown dependency
Government type: | NA
Capital: | Saint Helier
Administrative divisions: | none (British crown dependency)
Independence: | none (British crown dependency)
National holiday: | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)
Constitution: | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: | English law and local statute
Suffrage: | NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch
head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshall Sir John CHESHIRE (since 24 January 2001) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since NA February 1995)
cabinet: committees appointed by the Assembly of the States

Legislative branch:

unicameral Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12 senators, 12 constables or heads of parishes, 29 deputies; all elected for six-year terms, half elected every third year; the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 52

Judicial branch: | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff)
Political parties and leaders: | none; all independents
Political pressure groups and leaders: | none
Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (British crown dependency)
Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (British crown dependency)
Flag description: | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield holding the three lions of England in yellow

Economy | Jersey

Economy - overview:

The economy is based largely on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. In 1996 the finance sector accounted for about 60% of the island's output. Tourism, another mainstay of the economy, accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $2.2 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | NA%
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 5% industry: 2% services: 93% (1996)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 4.7% (1998)
Labor force: | 57,050 (1996)
Unemployment rate: | 0.7% (1998 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $601 million expenditures: $588 million, including capital expenditures of $98 million (2000 est.)
Industries: | tourism, banking and finance, dairy
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%
Electricity - imports: | NA kWh note: electricity supplied by France
Agriculture - products: | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products
Exports: | $NA
Exports - commodities: | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners: | UK
Imports: | $NA
Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners: | UK
Debt - external: | none
Economic aid - recipient: | none
Currency: | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Jersey pound
Currency code: | GBP
Exchange rates: | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.6981 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

Communications | Jersey

Telephones - main lines in use: | 65,500 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 4,400 (1997)
Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: 3 submarine cables
Radio broadcast stations: | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: | NA
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (1997)
Televisions: | NA
Internet country code: | .je
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | NA
Internet users: | NA

Transportation | Jersey

Railways: | 0 km
Highways: | total: 577 km (1995) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Waterways: | none
Ports and harbors: | Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier
Merchant marine: | none (2002 est.)
Airports: | 1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)

Military | Jersey

Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues | Jersey

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002