Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form:
Faroe Islands
local long form:
none
local short form:
Foroyar
Dependency status:
part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948
Capital:
name: Torshavn
geographic coordinates:
62 00 N, 6 46 W
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
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
Independence:
none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
National holiday:
Olaifest (Olavsoka), 29 July
Constitution:
5 June 1953 (Danish Constitution), 23 March 1948 (Home Rule Act), and 24 June 2005 (Takeover Act ) serve as the Faroe Islands�?" constitutional position in the Unity of the Realm (2013)
Legal system:
the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Dan Michael KNUDSEN, chief administrative officer (since 2008)
head of government:
Prime Minister Kaj Leo JOHANNESSEN (since 26 September 2008)
cabinet:
Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister
elections:
the monarchy 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 on 14 November 2011 (next to be held no later than November 2015)
election results:
Kaj Leo JOHANNESSEN reelected prime minister in 2011
Legislative branch:
unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (33 seats; members elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 29 October 2011 (next to be held no later than October 2015)
election results:
percent of vote by party - Union Party 24.7%, People's Party 22.5%, Republican Party 18.3%, Social Democratic Party 17.7%, Progressive Party 6.3%, Center Party 6.2%, Independence Party 4.2%, other 0.1%; seats by party - Union Party 8, People's Party 8, Republican Party 6, Social Democratic Party 6, Progressive Party 2, Center Party 2, Independence Party 1
note:
election of two seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 15 September 2011 (next to be held no later than September 2015); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Social Democratic Party 1, Union Party 1
Judicial branch:
the Faroese Court or Raett (Rett - Danish) decides both civil and criminal cases; the Court is part of the Danish legal system
Political parties and leaders:
Center Party (Midflokkurin) [Jenis av RANA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
conservationists
International organization participation:
Arctic Council, IMO (associate), NC, NIB, UNESCO (associate), UPU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Flag description:
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); referred to as Merkid, meaning "the banner" or "the mark," the flag resembles those of neighboring Iceland and Norway, and uses the same three colors - but in a different sequence; white represents the clear Faroese sky as well as the foam of the waves; red and blue are traditional Faroese colors
National anthem:
name: "Mitt alfagra land" (My Fairest Land)
lyrics/music:
Simun av SKAROI/Peter ALBERG
note:
adopted 1948; the anthem is also known as "Tu alfagra land mitt" (Thou Fairest Land of Mine); as an autonomous overseas division of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are permitted their own national anthem
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Faroe Islands on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Faroe Islands Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Faroe Islands Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14