Territory Name: Gibraltar

Capital: Gibraltar

Government Type: parliamentary democracy (Parliament); self-governing overseas territory of the UK

Background: Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum held in 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. The subsequent granting of autonomy in 1969 by the UK led Spain to close the border and sever all communication links. Between 1997 and 2002, the UK and Spain held a series of talks on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these talks, the Gibraltar Government called a referendum in late 2002 in which the majority of citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since late 2004, Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar have held tripartite talks with the aim of cooperatively resolving problems that affect the local population, and work continues on cooperation agreements in areas such as taxation and financial services; communications and maritime security; policy; legal and customs services; environmental protection; and education and visa services. A new noncolonial constitution came into force in 2007, and the European Court of First Instance recognized Gibraltar's right to regulate its own tax regime in December 2008. The UK retains responsibility for defense, foreign relations, internal security, and financial stability.

Spain and the UK continue to spar over the territory. Throughout 2009, a dispute over Gibraltar's claim to territorial waters extending out three miles gave rise to periodic non-violent maritime confrontations between Spanish and UK naval patrols, and in 2013, the British reported a record number of entries by Spanish vessels into waters claimed by Gibraltar following a dispute over Gibraltar's creation of an artificial reef in those waters. Spain renewed its demands for an eventual return of Gibraltar to Spanish control after the UK’s June 2016 vote to leave the EU, but London has dismissed any connection between the vote and its continued sovereignty over Gibraltar. 

Continent: Europe

Population: 29,629 (2023 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Gibraltarian 79%, other British 13.2%, Spanish 2.1%, Moroccan 1.6%, other EU 2.4%, other 1.6% (2012 est.)

Languages: English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese

Religions: Roman Catholic 72.1%, Church of England 7.7%, other Christian 3.8%, Muslim 3.6%, Jewish 2.4%, Hindu 2%, other 1.1%, none 7.1%, unspecified 0.1% (2012 est.)

Economic Overview: British territorial high-income economy; Brexit caused significant economic disruption to longstanding financial services, shipping, and tourism industries; ongoing negotiations to rejoin EU Schengen Area; independent taxation authority

Currency: Gibraltar Pound (GIP)

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $2.044 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2014 dollars

Real GDP per Capita: $61,700 (2014 est.)

Exports: 

• $202.3 million (2014 est.)

• Comparison Ranking: 202

Export Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, ships, refined petroleum, recreational boats, designer watches (2021)

Export Partners: Poland 31%, Netherlands 27%, France 11%, Germany 8%, United States 6% (2019)

Import Commodities: refined petroleum, recreational boats, cars, coal tar oil, crude petroleum (2019)

Import Partners: Spain 19%, US 12%, India 12%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11%, United Kingdom 7%, Greece 6% (2019)

Natural Resources: none

Agricultural Products: none

Industries: tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• 4.3% (2014 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

• Comparison Ranking: 90

Labor Force: 24,420 (2014 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 1% (2016 est.)

Natural Hazards: occasional droughts; no streams or large bodies of water on the peninsula (all potable water comes from desalination)

Geography:

• Total: 7 sq km

• Land: 7 sq km

• Water: 0 sq km

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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