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Channel Islands: Jersey and Guernsey
Status: Crown dependencies
Lieutenant Governor of Jersey: Andrew
Ridgway (2006)
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey:
Fabian Malbon (2005)
Total area: 45 sq mi (117 sq km) (Jersey), 75
sq mi (194 sq km) (Guernsey)
Populations (2008 est.): Jersey, 91,533
(growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 8.8/1000; infant mortality rate:
5.0/1000; life expectancy: 79.6; density per sq mi: 789; Guernsey,
65,726 (growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 8.5/1000; infant mortality
rate: 4.5/1000; life expectancy: 80.6; density per sq mi: 842
Capital of Jersey (2003 est.): St. Helier,
28,600
Capital of Guernsey (2003 est.): St. Peter
Port, 16,600
Monetary units: Guernsey pound; Jersey
pound
Major sources and definitions
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Flag of Jersey
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Flag of Guernsey
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This group of islands, lying in the English
Channel off the northwest coast of France, belonged to the Duchy of
Normandy until it passed to the English Crown with the Norman conquest of
1066. It was the only British possession occupied by Germany during World
War II. English and French are commonly spoken (though use of the latter
is declining), and a Norman-French patois survives.
For administrative purposes, the islands are
divided into the Bailiwick of Jersey (45 sq mi; 116 sq km), including the
Ecrehous rocks and Les Minquiers, and the Bailiwick of Guernsey (30 sq mi;
78 sq km), including Alderney (3 sq mi; 7.8 sq km), Sark (2 sq mi; 5.2 sq
km), Herm, Jethou, Brechou, and other smaller islands. The Channel Islands
enjoy tax sovereignty, and their exports are protected by British tariff
barriers. Financial services, tourism, market gardening, and dairy farming
are important industries.
See also Encyclopedia: Channel Islands.
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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