Faroe Islands |
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Anthem: Tú alfagra land mítt
Thou, my most beauteous land |
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Location of the Faroe Islands (circled) in Northern Europe
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Location of the Danish Realm (red), consisting of the Faroe Islands (circled), Greenland and Denmark
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Capital and largest city |
Tórshavn 62°00′N 06°47′W / 62.000°N 6.783°W |
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Official languages | |||||
Religion | Church of the Faroe Islands | ||||
Demonym | Faroe Islanders | ||||
Sovereign state | Kingdom of Denmark | ||||
Government | Devolved government within parliamentary constitutional monarchy | ||||
• Monarch
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Margrethe II | ||||
Dan Michael Knudsen | |||||
• Premier
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Aksel V. Johannesen | ||||
Legislature | Løgting | ||||
Formation | |||||
c. 1035 | |||||
14 January 1814 | |||||
• Gained home rule
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1 April 1948 | ||||
• Further autonomy
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29 July 2005 | ||||
Area | |||||
• Total
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1,399 km2 (540 sq mi) (180th) | ||||
• Water (%)
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0.5 | ||||
Population | |||||
• January 2016 estimate
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49,188 (206th) | ||||
• 2011 census
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48,346 | ||||
• Density
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35.2/km2 (91.2/sq mi) | ||||
GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | ||||
• Total
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$1.642 billion | ||||
• Per capita
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$33,700 | ||||
GDP (nominal) | 2008 estimate | ||||
• Total
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$2.45 billion | ||||
• Per capita
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$50,300 | ||||
HDI (2008) | 0.950 very high |
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Currency | Faroese króna (DKK) | ||||
Time zone | WET (UTC) | ||||
• Summer (DST)
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WEST (UTC+1) | ||||
Drives on the | right | ||||
Calling code | +298 | ||||
ISO 3166 code | FO | ||||
Internet TLD | .fo | ||||
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Coordinates: 62°00′N 06°47′W / 62.000°N 6.783°W
The Faroe Islands (/ˈfɛəroʊ/; Faroese: Føroyar pronounced [ˈfœɹjaɹ]; Danish: Færøerne, pronounced [ˈfæɐ̯øːˀɐnə]; Irish: Na Scigirí) are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, 320 kilometres (200 miles) north-northwest of mainland Scotland. The area is approximately 1,400 square kilometres (541 square miles) with a 2016 population of 49,188. The islands are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
The land is rugged and has a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc): windy, wet, cloudy and cool. Despite its northerly latitude, temperatures average above freezing throughout the year due to the Gulf Stream.