Faroe Islands

Abstract

The Faroe Islands are located in the North Atlantic, halfway between Norway and Iceland. The archipelago consists of 18 islands, 17 of them inhabited, covering an overall territory of 1,399 km². Until 1948, the islands were a Danish county. Since that time, they have been a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, as laid down in the Home Rule Act, passed by the Danish Folketing on 23 March 1948. On this basis, the Faroe Islands have their own legislative assembly (Løgting) and their own government (Landsstýri). The Home Rule Act declares Faroese, a West Nordic language, derived from Old Norse and closely related to Norwegian and Icelandic, as the principal language, and Faroese is used as the language of instruction in the Faroese education system. At the same time, the Home Rule Act stipulates that Danish is learned well and carefully, and Danish may also be used in public affairs. While responsibility for defense issues and foreign policy is exercised jointly with Denmark, the Faroe Islands did not follow Denmark in 1972 in joining the European Community, and they are not a member of the European Union today. Approximately 48,000 people live on the Faroe Islands, 38 % of them in the area of the capital, Tórshavn. The economy of the islands is heavily based on the fishing industry.