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. The subsequent granting of autonomy in 1969 by the UK led Spain to close the border and sever all communication links. Between 1997 and 2002, the UK and Spain held a series of talks on establishing temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these talks, the Gibraltar Government called a referendum in late 2002 in which the majority of citizens voted overwhelmingly against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since late 2004, Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar have held tripartite talks with the aim of cooperatively resolving problems that affect the local population, and work continues on cooperation agreements in areas such as taxation and financial services; communications and maritime security; policy, legal and customs services; environmental protection; and education and visa services. A new noncolonial constitution came into force in 2007, and the European Court of First Instance recognized Gibraltar's right to regulate its own tax regime in December 2008. The UK retains responsibility for defense, foreign relations, internal security, and financial stability.

Spain and the UK continue to spar over the territory. Throughout 2009, a dispute over Gibraltar's claim to territorial waters extending out three miles gave rise to periodic non-violent maritime confrontations between Spanish and UK naval patrols and in 2013, the British reported a record number of entries by Spanish vessels into waters claimed by Gibraltar following a dispute over Gibraltar's creation of an artificial reef in those waters. Spain renewed its demands for an eventual return of Gibraltar to Spanish control after the UK’s June 2016 vote to leave the EU, but London has dismissed any connection between the vote and its future commitment to Gibraltar.

Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain

36 08 N, 5 21 W

Europe

more than 10 times the size of The National Mall in Washington, D.C.

12 km

Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers

a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar

highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m

none

arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0%

NA

occasional droughts; no streams or large bodies of water on the peninsula (all potable water comes from desalination)

limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant

29,396 (July 2017 est.)

Gibraltarian 79%, other British 13.2%, Spanish 2.1%, Moroccan 1.6%, other EU 2.4%, other 1.6% (2012 est.)

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

Roman Catholic 72.1%, Church of England 7.7%, other Christian 3.8%, Muslim 3.6%, Jewish 2.4%, Hindu 2%, other 1.1%, none 7.1%, unspecified 0.1% (2012 est.)

0.23% (2017 est.)

14 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

8.5 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-3.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

GIBRALTAR (capital) 29,000 (2014)

1.9 children born/woman (2017 est.)

NA

NA

NA

NA

overseas territory of the UK

parliamentary democracy (Parliament); self-governing overseas territory of the UK

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or join Spain

the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply

see United Kingdom

18 years of age; universal; and British citizens with six months residence or more

Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]

Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Roy CLINTON, interim leader]

Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Fabian PICARDO]

GSLP-Liberal Alliance (includes GSLP and LPG)

Liberal Party of Gibraltar or LPG

Progressive Democratic Party [Nick CRUZ]

Chamber of Commerce

Gibraltar Representatives Organization

Women's Association

ICC (NGOs), Interpol (subbureau), UPU

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band; the design is that of Gibraltar's coat of arms granted on 10 July 1502 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain; the castle symbolizes Gibraltar as a fortress, while the key represents Gibraltar's strategic importance - the key to the Mediterranean

Barbary macaque; national colors: red, white, yellow

Self-sufficient Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. Tax rates are low to attract foreign investment. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. 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.

The financial sector, tourism (over 11 million visitors in 2012), gaming revenues, shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, tourism, and the shipping sector contribute 30%, 30%, and 25%, respectively, of GDP. Telecommunications, e-commerce, and e-gaming account for the remaining 15%.

$2.044 billion (2014 est.)

$1.85 billion (2013 est.)

$2 billion (2012 est.)

$2.044 billion (2013 est.)

$61,700 (2014 est.)

$43,000 (2008 est.)

$41,200 (2007 est.)

none

tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco

NA%

24,420 (2014 est.)

1% (2016 est.)

NA%

23.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

1.1% of GDP (2008 est.)

7.5% of GDP (2008 est.)

8.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

1 July - 30 June

2.5% (2013 est.)

2.2% (2012 est.)

$202.3 million (2014 est.)

$271 million (2004 est.)

(principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods (2010 est.)

Spain 22.5%, Poland 16.7%, Netherlands 15.1%, UK 9.9%, Belgium 8.5%, Cote dIvoire 5%, Lebanon 4.2% (2016)

$2.967 billion (2004 est.)

fuels, manufactured goods, foodstuffs

US 22.3%, India 15.2%, Italy 11.2%, Spain 8.6%, Netherlands 7.2%, UK 6.1%, Greece 5.3%, France 4.3% (2016)

$NA

Gibraltar pounds (GIP) per US dollar -

0.9214 (2016 est.)

0.885 (2015 est.)

0.885 (2014 est.)

0.7634 (2013 est.)

0.64 (2012)

194.6 million kWh (2015 est.)

188.6 million kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

43,000 kW (2015 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

70,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

58,300 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

3.6 million Mt (2013 est.)

Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) provides TV and radio broadcasting services via 1 TV station and 4 radio stations; British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) operates 1 radio station; broadcasts from Spanish radio and TV stations are accessible (2008)

.gi

VP-G (2016)

1 (2013)

Royal Gibraltar Regiment (2013)

defense is the responsibility of the UK; the Royal Gibraltar Regiment replaced the last British regular infantry forces in 1992