(British crown dependency)

Location: Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland

Geographic coordinates: 54 15 N, 4 30 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
total : 588 sq km
land: 588 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 113 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: cool summers and mild winters; humid; overcast about half the time

Terrain: hills in north and south bisected by central valley

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 620 m

Natural resources: lead, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures : NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA% (extensive arable land and forests)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: NA

Environment - international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography - note: one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary

Population: 73,873 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010)
65 years and over : 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.52% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 1111.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years : 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.81 years
male: 74.44 years
female : 81.36 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun : Manxman, Manxwoman
adjective: Manx

Ethnic groups: Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton

Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends

Languages: English, Manx Gaelic

Literacy: NA

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man

Data code: IM

Dependency status: British crown dependency

Government type: NA

National capital: Douglas

Administrative divisions: there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

National holiday: Tynwald Day, 5 July

Constitution: 1961, Isle of Man Constitution Act

Legal system: English law and local statute

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor His Excellency Sir Timothy DAUNT (since NA 1995)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001)
cabinet : Council of Ministers
elections: tthe monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006)
election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald

Legislative branch: bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006)
election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19

Judicial branch:High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor)

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (British crown dependency)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (British crown dependency)

Flag description: red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used

Economy - overview: Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 13.5% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 13%
services: 86% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2.5% (2000 est

Labor force:
total: 36,610 (1998)
by occupation: agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10%

Unemployment rate: 0.7% (February 2002)

Budget:
revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)

Industries: financial services, light manufacturing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (FY96/97)

Electricity - capacity: NA kW

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry

Exports: $NA
commodities: tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb
partners : UK

Imports: $NA
commodities : timber, fertilizers, fish
partners: UK

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid:
recipient : ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Manx pound (£M) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Telephones: 51,000 (1999)

Telephone system:
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system
international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999)

Televisions: 27,490 (1999)

Railways:
total : 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001)

Highways:
total:800 km
paved: 800 km
unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Ports and harbors: Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey

Merchant marine:
total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: 1 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Disputes - international: none