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.

Although the current 1969 Constitution for Gibraltar states that the British Government will never allow the people of Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes, a series of talks were held by the UK and Spain between 1997 and 2002 on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar.

In response to these talks, the Gibraltarian Government set up a referendum in late 2002 in which a majority of the citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since the referendum, tripartite talks have been held with Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar, and in September 2006 a three-way agreement was signed.

Spain agreed to allow airlines other than British to serve Gibraltar, to speed up customs procedures, and to add more telephone lines into Gibraltar. Britain agreed to pay pensions to Spaniards who had been employed in Gibraltar before the border closed in 1969. Spain will be allowed to open a cultural institute from which the Spanish flag will fly.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 27,967 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.2% (male 2,460/female 2,343) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 9,470/female 9,070) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 2,090/female 2,534) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 40.1 years male: 39.6 years female: 40.4 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 0.129% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 10.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.825 male(s)/female total population: 1.005 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 4.98 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.93 years male: 77.05 years female: 82.96 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Gibraltarian(s) adjective: Gibraltar

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Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North Africans

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Religions: Roman Catholic 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian 3.2%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 0.9%, none 2.9% (2001 census)

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

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Literacy: definition: NA total population: above 80% male: NA female: NA

Self-sufficient Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $769 million (2000 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): NA

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GDP - real growth rate: NA%

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $27,900 (2000 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

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Labor force: 12,690 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (2001)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: negligible industry: 40% services: 60%

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Unemployment rate: 2% (2001 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1998)

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Budget: revenues: $307 million expenditures: $284 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)

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Agriculture - products: none

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

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Electricity - production: 131.2 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 122 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 24,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Exports: $271 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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Exports - commodities: (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8%

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Exports - partners: UK 30.8%, Spain 22.7%, Germany 13.7%, Turkmenistan 10.4%, Switzerland 8.3%, Italy 6.7% (2006)

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Imports: $2.967 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)

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Imports - commodities: fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs

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Imports - partners: Spain 23.4%, Russia 12.3%, Italy 12%, UK 9%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 6.8%, US 4.7% (2006)

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Debt - external: $NA

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Economic aid - recipient: $NA

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Currency (code): Gibraltar pound (GIP)

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Exchange rates: Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.5434 (2006), 0.5504 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002) note: the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound

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Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June