]! ^! 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 `O 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line `l 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% (2005) ^/ 0 sq km ^0 NA ^1 NA _P `P Marine Dumping -associate member to the London Convention and Ship Pollution ^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 47,511 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 20.6% (male 4,882/female 4,904) `, 65.3% (male 16,353/female 14,668) `- 14.1% (male 3,041/female 3,663) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 35 years `. 34.8 years `/ 35.3 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.543% (2007 est.) ^7 14.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1 male(s)/female `1 0.996 male(s)/female `, 1.115 male(s)/female `- 0.83 male(s)/female `2 1.045 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 6.01 deaths/1,000 live births `. 7.25 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 79.49 years `. 76.06 years `/ 82.93 years (2007 est.) ^= 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Faroese (singular and plural) `4 Faroese ^B Scandinavian ^C Evangelical Lutheran ^D Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish ^E `5 NA `2 NA% `. NA% `/ NA% `* probably 100%, the same as Denmark proper 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Faroe Islands `Z none `[ Foroyar ^G part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 ^H NA ^I `8 Torshavn `9 62 01 N, 6 46 W `: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ^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 34 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 `; Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001) `< Prime Minister Joannes EIDESGAARD (since 3 February 2004) `= Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister `> 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 ^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) `> last held 20 January 2004 (next to be held no later than January 2008) `? percent of vote by party - Union Party 23.7%, Social Democratic Party 21.8%, Republican Party 21.7%, People's Party 20.6%, Center Party 5.2%, Independence Party 4.6%, other 2.4%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, Union Party 7, Social Democratic Party 7, People's Party 7, Center Party 2, Independence Party 1 `* election of two seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 8 February 2005 (next to be held in 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 Leo JOHANNESEN] ^T NA ^U Arctic Council, 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 is dependent on fishing, which makes the economy vulnerable to price swings. Since 2003 the Faroese economy has picked up as a result of higher prices for fish and for housing. Unemployment is minimal and government finances are relatively sound. Oil finds close to the Islands give hope for economically recoverable deposits, which could eventually lay the basis for a more diversified economy and lessen dependence on Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (about 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.) ^[ $1.7 billion (2005 est.) ^\ 2.4% (2005 est.) ^] $31,000 (2001 est.) ^^ `@ 27% `A 11% `B 62% (1999) ^_ 24,250 (October 2000) ^` `@ 33% `A 33% `B 34% ^a 2.1% (2006) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 1.8% (2005) _$ `E $588 million `F $623 million; including capital expenditures of $34 million (2005) _& milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish _' fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment, handicrafts _( 8% (1999 est.) _) 292.6 million kWh (2004) _* 272.1 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 4,550 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $598 million f.o.b. (2005 est.) _4 fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999) _5 Denmark 38%, UK 29.4%, Nigeria 8.9%, Norway 6.1%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005) _6 $639 million c.i.f. (2004 est.) _7 consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, machinery and transport equipment 29%, fuels, fish, salt (1999) _8 Denmark 47.4%, Norway 18.7%, Germany 8.4%, Spain 7.8%, Iceland 4.9%, Sweden 4% (2005) _9 $64 million (1999) _: $105 million; note - annual subsidy from Denmark (2005) _; Danish krone (DKK) _< Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 23,800 (2005) _? 42,500 (2005) _@ `G good international communications; good domestic facilities `H digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed `I 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 _A AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) _B 3 (plus 43 repeaters) (September 1995) _C .fo _D 6,915 (2006) _E 33,000 (2005) 
]' _F 1 (2006) _G `! 1 `c 1 (2006) _H `! 458 km `* no roads between towns (2003) _S `! 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,265 GRT/9,171 DWT by type: cargo 10, container 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 2 `X 8 (Iceland 4, Norway 4) (2006) _I Torshavn 
]( _J no regular military forces _K males age 18-49: 10,695 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 8,852 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 366 (2005 est.) _U NA _M defense is the responsibility of Denmark 
]) _N because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full independence have been deferred; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm 