The 2005 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
10% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 27% industry: 11% services: 62% (1999)
Labor force: 24,250 (October 2000)
Labor force - by occupation: fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34%
Unemployment rate:
1% (October 2000)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.1% (1999)
Budget:
revenues: $488 million
expenditures: $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21
million (1999)
Agriculture - products:
milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish
Industries:
fishing, fish processing, small ship repair and refurbishment,
handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate:
8% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production:
220 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 62.4% hydro: 37.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
204.6 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
4,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Exports:
$408 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999)
Exports - partners:
Denmark 33.5%, UK 29.7%, Norway 8.4%, Nigeria 7.2% (2004)
Imports:
$466 million c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw
materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999)
Imports - partners:
Denmark 52.8%, Norway 18.3%, Iceland 4.4%, Sweden 4.2% (2004)
Debt - external:
$64 million (1999)
Economic aid - recipient:
$135 million (annual subsidy from Denmark) (1998)
Currency (code):
Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code:
DKK
Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947
(2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Faroe Islands
Telephones - main lines in use:
23,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
30,700 (2002)
Telephone system:
general assessment: good international communications; good
domestic facilities
domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog)
and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed
international: 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
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
26,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions:
15,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.fo
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)
Internet users:
25,000 (2002)
Transportation Faroe Islands
Highways: total: 463 km paved: 454 km unpaved: 9 km (1999)
Ports and harbors:
Torshavn
Merchant marine:
total: 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
foreign-owned: 8 (Denmark 2, Germany 1, Iceland 2, Norway 2, United
Kingdom 1) (2005)
Airports:
1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Faroe Islands
Military branches:
no regular military forces
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Denmark
Transnational Issues Faroe Islands
Disputes - international:
because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources have not been