Daily Almanac for
May 13, 2008
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Faroe Islands

Status: Autonomous part of Denmark

Chief of State: Queen Margrethe II (1972)

High Commissioner: Birgit Kleis (2001)

Prime Minister: Jóannes Eidesgaard (2004)

Total area: 540 sq mi (1,399 sq km)

Population (2007 est.): 47,511 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 14.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 6.0/1000; life expectancy: 79.5; density per sq mi: 88

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Tórshavn, 17,300

Monetary unit: Faroese krone

Languages: Faroese, Danish (both official)

Ethnicity/race: Scandinavian

Religion: Evangelical Lutheran

Literacy rate: n.a.

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $1 billion; $31,000 per capita. Real growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.). Inflation: 1.8% (2005). Unemployment: 2.1% (Oct. 2000) . Arable land: 2%. Agriculture: milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish. Labor force: 24,250 (2006): fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34%. Industries: fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment, handicrafts. Exports: $634 million f.o.b. (2006 est.): fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999). Imports: $751 million c.i.f. (2006): machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999). Major trading partners: Denmark, UK, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Nigeria, Netherlands (2006).

Major sources and definitions

Faroe Islands

This group of 18 islands, of which 17 are inhabited, is located in the North Atlantic about 200 mi (322 km) northwest of the Shetland Islands. They were settled by the Vikings, the ancestors of the modern-day Faroese, in the 8th century. The Faroese language is derived from Old Norse. The islands joined Denmark in 1386 and have been part of the Danish kingdom ever since. The Faroes have had home rule, under Danish authority, since 1948.

See also Encyclopedia: Faroe Islands.
Statistics Faroe Islands www.hagstova.fo .


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Outlying Territories of Denmark Greenland
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