BASIC
INFORMATION
Full
Name: JERSEY
Capital
Saint Helier
Largest city Saint
Helier
Official language
English, French
Government
British crown dependency
Area 116 km²
Population
91,084
Currency Jersey
pound
Time
zone (UTC +1)
Internet
TLD .je
Calling
code +44-1534
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GEOGRAPHY
& BACKGROUND
The
Bailiwick of Jersey (Jèrriais: Jèrri)
is a British Crown dependency off the coast
of Normandy, France. As well as the island
of Jersey itself, it also includes the uninhabited
islands of the Minquiers and Ecréhous,
the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and
reefs. Along with the Bailiwick of Guernsey
it forms the grouping known as the Channel
Islands. The defence of all these islands
is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
However, Jersey is not part of the UK, nor
the European Union, but is rather a separate
possession of the Crown, comparable to the
Isle of Man.
Jersey
is an island measuring 118.2 square kilometres
(65,569 vergee / 46 sq. mi.), including
reclaimed land and intertidal zone. It lies
in the English Channel, approximately 22.5
kilometres (12 mi) from the Cotentin Peninsula
in Normandy, France, and approximately 161
kilometres (100 mi) south of Great Britain.
It is the largest and southernmost of the
Channel Islands.
The
climate is temperate with mild winters and
cool summers, it also averages the most
sunshine per year in the British Isles.
The terrain consists of a plateau sloping
from long sandy bays in the south to rugged
cliffs in the north. The plateau is cut
by valleys running generally north-south.
The
Island plays host to large amount of people
born outside Jersey; roughly 50% of the
population are not originally from the island.
30%
of the population is concentrated in Saint
Helier, site of the only town. Of the roughly
87,000 people in Jersey, around two fifths
are of Jersey/Norman descent and two fifths
of British (English, Scottish, Welsh and
Northern Irish) descent. The largest minority
groups in the island, after the British,
are Portuguese (around 6% - especially Madeiran),
Irish and Polish. The French community is
also always present. The people of Jersey
are often called Islanders, or in individual
terms Jerseyman or Jerseywoman. Most Jersey-born
people consider themselves British and value
the special relationship between the British
Crown and the Island.
The
Church of England is the established church,
but Methodism is traditionally strong in
the countryside and there is a large Roman
Catholic minority. See Religion in Jersey.
Jersey,
like most places in the western world, has
an ageing population. Reasons for this change
particular to Jersey are the emigration
of young people seeking opportunities the
Island cannot provide.
For
immigration and nationality purposes the
United Kingdom generally treats Jersey as
though it were part of the UK. However,
Jersey is constitutionally entitled to restrict
immigration by non-Jersey residents and
maintains its own immigration and border
controls. Population is currently controlled
by restrictions on those without residential
status purchasing or renting property in
the Island. Although Jersey's citizens are
full British citizens, an endorsement restricting
the right of establishment in European Union
states other than the UK is placed in the
Jersey passport of British citizens connected
solely with the Channel Islands and Isle
of Man. Those who have a parent or grandparent
born in the United Kingdom, or who have
lived in the United Kingdom for five years,
are not subject to this restriction.
