Faroe Islands

part of the Danish realmIndependence part of the Danish realm

Faroe Islands as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 67 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTorshavn
Area1,400 km2
1992

Every edition of Faroe Islands

Populationas each edition published it
48,588 people July 1992 · 47,715 in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.67% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 35.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 77.92 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.2 children per woman 1992 · 2.2 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 9 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $14,000 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 3% in 1993

Geography

13 fields
Total area
1,400km2
Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of Washington, DC
Coastline
764km
land boundaries: noneExclusive fishing zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 3 nm

Land area

1,400 km2

Climate

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

Terrain

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

Land use

  • arable land 2%;
  • permanent crops 0%;
  • meadows and pastures 0%;
  • forest and woodland 0%;
  • other 98%

Environment

precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets

Note

strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands

People

14 fields
Population
48,588
(July 1992), growth rate 0.9% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth
17Death
8Net migration
0

Infant mortality rate

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

75 years male, 81 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

2.2 children born/woman (1992)

Nationality

noun - Faroese (singular and plural); adjective - Faroese

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous Scandinavian population

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran

Languages

Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

Labor force

17,585; largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and commerce

Government

Part of the Danish realm

17 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

27.4%
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%

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

part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark

National holiday

Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Executive branch

Danish monarch, high commissioner, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet (Landsstyri)

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (Lgting)

Leaders

Chief of State:
Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Atli P. DAM (since 15 January 1991)

Political parties and leaders

opposition:
  • Cooperation Coalition Party, Pauli ELLEFSEN;
  • Republican Party, Signer HANSEN;
  • Progressive and Fishing Industry Party-Christian People's Party (PFIP-CPP), leader NA;
  • Progress Party, leader NA;
  • Home Rule Party, Hilmar KASS
two-party ruling coalition:
Social Democratic Party, Atli P. DAM; People's Party, Jogvan SUND- STEIN

Suffrage

universal at age 20

Elections

Danish Parliament:
  • 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
Faroese Parliament:
  • 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

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

16 fields
External debt
$1.3billion
(1989)

Budget

Revenues
$425 millionExpenditures
$480 million
expenditures, including capital expenditures of NA (1991 est.)

Overview

The Faroese, who have long been enjoying the affluent living standards of the Danes and other Scandinavians, now must cope with the decline of the all-important fishing industry and with an external debt twice the size of annual income. 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 further reductions in the fishing industry, which has already been plagued with bankrupcies. An annual Danish subsidy of $140 million continues to provide roughly one-third of the islands' budget revenues.

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $662 million, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

5-6% (1991 est.)

Exports

$386 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)

commodities:
fish and fish products 88%, animal feedstuffs, transport equipment (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%

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Electricity

80,000 kW capacity; 280 million kWh produced, 5,910 kWh per capita (1991)

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

Currency

Danish krone (plural - kroner); 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates

Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.116 (January 1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

5 fields

Merchant marine, 10 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 1cargo 5roll-on/roll-off 2refrigerated cargo; note - a subset of the Danish register 210 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,015 GRT/24,007 DWT

Highways

200 km

Ports

Torshavn, Tvoroyri

Airports

1 with permanent surface runways 1,220-2,439 m

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

No organized native military forces; only a small Police Force is maintained

2 fields

Branches

no organized native military forces; only a small Police Force is maintained

Note

defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Central Intelligence Agency. “Faroe Islands.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/faroe-islands/1992.

How to cite ← 1991 edition 1993 edition →