]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway ^# 62 00 N, 7 00 W ^$ Europe ^% `! 1,399 sq km `" 1,399 sq km `# 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) ^& eight times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 1,117 km ^) `$ 3 nm `J 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line `a 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line ^* mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy ^+ rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Slaettaratindur 882 m ^- fish, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas ^. `' 2.14% `( 0% `) 97.86% (2001) ^/ 0 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 NA ^1 NA ^2 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 
]# ^3 46,962 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 21.3% (male 4,997/female 4,999) `+ 64.9% (male 16,120/female 14,360) `, 13.8% (male 2,923/female 3,563) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 35.11 years `- 34.64 years `. 35.68 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.62% (2005 est.) ^7 13.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1 male(s)/female `0 1 male(s)/female `+ 1.12 male(s)/female `, 0.82 male(s)/female `1 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births `- 7.54 deaths/1,000 live births `. 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 79.21 years `- 75.77 years `. 82.67 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Faroese (singular and plural) `3 Faroese ^B Scandinavian ^C Evangelical Lutheran ^D Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish ^E `M NA `1 NA% `- NA% `. NA% note: probably the same as Denmark proper 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Faroe Islands `V none `W Foroyar ^G part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 ^H NA ^I Torshavn ^J 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 ^K none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) ^L Olaifest (Olavasoka), 29 July ^M 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) ^N Danish ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001) `7 Prime Minister Joannes EIDESGAARD (since 3 February 2004) `8 Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister `9 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 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008) `: Joannes EIDESGAARD elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - NA% note: coalition of Social Democrats, Union Party, and People's Party ^Q 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) `9 last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008) `: percent of vote by party - Union Party 23.7%, Social Democrats 21.8%, Republican Party 21.7%, People's Party 20.6%, Center Party 5.2%, Independence Party 4.6%; seats by party - Union Party 7, Social Democrats 7, Republican Party 8, People's Party 7, Center Party 2, Independence Party 1 note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 1, People's Party 1 ^R none ^S Center Party [Jenis A. RANA]; Independence Party [Kari P. HOJGAARD]; People's Party [Anfinn KALLSBERG]; Republican Party [Hogni HOYDAL]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Kaj Oeo JOHANNESEN] ^T NA ^U IMO (associate), NC, NIB, UPU ^V none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) ^W none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) ^X 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) 
]% ^Y 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 minimal 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 has helped 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. ^Z $1 billion (2001 est.) ^[ 10% (2001 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2001 est.) ^] `; 27% `< 11% `= 62% (1999) ^^ 24,250 (October 2000) ^_ fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34% ^` 1% (October 2000) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 5.1% (1999) _# `@ $488 million `A $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (1999) _$ milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish _% fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment, handicrafts _& 8% (1999 est.) _' 220 million kWh (2002) _( 204.6 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 4,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $408 million f.o.b. (2002) _0 fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999) _1 Denmark 33.5%, UK 29.7%, Norway 8.4%, Nigeria 7.2% (2004) _2 $466 million c.i.f. (2002) _3 machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999) _4 Denmark 52.8%, Norway 18.3%, Iceland 4.4%, Sweden 4.2% (2004) _5 $64 million (1999) _6 $135 million (annual subsidy from Denmark) (1998) _7 Danish krone (DKK) _8 Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 23,000 (2002) _; 30,700 (2002) _< `B good international communications; good domestic facilities `C digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed `D country code - 298; 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 _= AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995) _? .fo _A 25,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 463 km `E 454 km `F 9 km (1999) _C Torshavn _K `! 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 24,051 GRT/11,998 DWT by type: cargo 6, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 2 `S 8 (Denmark 2, Germany 1, Iceland 2, Norway 2, United Kingdom 1) (2005) _D 1 (2004 est.) _E `! 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces _N $NA _O NA _G defense is the responsibility of Denmark 
]) _H because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full independence have been deferred; Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm 