Country List | World Factbook Home
The World Factbook
| Faroe Islands |

Introduction | Faroe Islands

Background: | The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self-government was attained in 1948.

Geography | Faroe Islands

Location: | Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway
Geographic coordinates: | 62 00 N, 7 00 W
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 1,399 sq km water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) land: 1,399 sq km
Area - comparative: | eight times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 1,117 km
Maritime claims: | continental shelf: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM
Climate: | mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy
Terrain: | rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m
Natural resources: | fish, whales, hydropower
Land use: | arable land: 2.14% permanent crops: 0% other: 97.86% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | NA
Environment - current issues: | NA
Geography - note: | 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

People | Faroe Islands

Population: | 46,345 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 22% (male 5,103; female 5,077) 15-64 years: 64.4% (male 15,822; female 14,002) 65 years and over: 13.7% (male 2,842; female 3,499) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 35.1 years male: 34.5 years female: 35.8 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 0.7% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 13.81 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | 1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 78.9 years male: 75.44 years female: 82.36 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.24 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: Faroese (singular and plural) adjective: Faroese
Ethnic groups: | Scandinavian
Religions: | Evangelical Lutheran
Languages: | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Literacy: | definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper

Government | Faroe Islands

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Faroe Islands local short form: Foroyar local long form: none
Dependency status: | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948
Government type: | NA
Capital: | Torshavn
Administrative divisions: | 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 49 municipalities
Independence: | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
National holiday: | Olaifest, 29 July
Constitution: | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Legal system: | Danish
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001) election results: Anfinn KALLSBERG elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - 52.8% note: coalition of People's Party, Republican Party, Home Rule Party, and Center Party elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held 30 April 2002 (next to be held no later than April 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Anfinn KALLSBERG (since 15 May 1998) cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: | unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - Union Party 26%, Republican Party 23.7%, Social Democrats 20.9%, People's Party 20.8% Home Rule Party 4.4%, Center Party 4.2%; seats by party - Union Party 8, Republican Party 8, Social Democrats 7, People's Party 7, Home Rule Party 1, Center Party 1 note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 20 November 2001 (next to be held no later than November 2005); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 1, Union Party 1 elections: last held 30 April 2002 (next to be held no later than April 2006)
Judicial branch: | none
Political parties and leaders: | Center Party [Tordur NICLASEN]; Home Rule Party [Helena Dam a NEYSTABO]; People's Party [Oli BRECKMANN]; Republican Party [Finnabogi ISAKSON]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Edmund JOENSEN]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | IMO (associate), NC, NIB
Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Flag description: | 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)

Economy | Faroe Islands

Economy - overview: | The Faroese economy has had a strong performance since 1994, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and high and stable export prices. Unemployment is falling and there are signs of labor shortages in several sectors. The positive economic development has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce increasing budget surpluses, which in turn help to reduce the large public debt, most of it owed to Denmark. However, the total dependence on fishing makes the Faroese economy extremely vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what is a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Oil finds close to the Faroese area give hope for deposits in the immediate Faroese area, which may eventually lay the basis for a more diversified economy and thus lessen dependence on Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (15% of GDP) from Denmark, the Faroese have a standard of living not far below the Danes and other Scandinavians.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 10% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 27% industry: 11% services: 62% (1999)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 5.1% (1999)
Labor force: | 24,250 (October 2000)
Labor force - by occupation: | fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34%
Unemployment rate: | 1% (October 2000)
Budget: | revenues: $488 million expenditures: $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (1999)
Industries: | fishing, fish processing, shipbuilding, construction, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: | 8% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: | 160.4 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 62.4% hydro: 37.6% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 149.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 4,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Agriculture - products: | milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish
Exports: | $418 million f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities: | fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999)
Exports - partners: | Denmark 39.9%, UK 32.1%, Norway 7.4%, Netherlands 6.1% (2002)
Imports: | $469 million c.i.f. (1999)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999)
Imports - partners: | Denmark 53.8%, Norway 24.2%, Iceland 5.7% (2002)
Debt - external: | $64 million (1999)
Economic aid - recipient: | $55 million (annual subsidy from Denmark)
Currency: | Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code: | DKK
Exchange rates: | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.89 (2002), 8.32 (2001), 8.08 (2000), 6.98 (1999), 6.7 (1998)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Faroe Islands

Telephones - main lines in use: | 24,851 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 10,761 (1999)
Telephone system: | general assessment: good international communications; good domestic facilities domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed international: 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
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: | 26,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions: | 15,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .fo
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2000)
Internet users: | 3,000 (2000)

Transportation | Faroe Islands

Railways: | 0 km
Highways: | total: 463 km paved: 454 km unpaved: 9 km (1999)
Waterways: | none
Ports and harbors: | Torshavn, Klaksvik, Tvoroyri, Runavik, Fuglafjordhur
Merchant marine: | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 100,951 GRT/139,396 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 3, Norway 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1
Airports: | 1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Military | Faroe Islands

Military branches: | no regular indigenous military forces; small Police Force and Coast Guard are maintained
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA%
Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Transnational Issues | Faroe Islands

Disputes - international: | Faroese are considering proposals for full independence; Denmark dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary of 200 NM; Denmark disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003