Location
on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula
National currency
Gibraltar pound
Conditional reduction of currency
GIP
Climate, average max and min t°
Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers; avg. maximum temperature (August) +32°; avg. minimum temperature (January) +8°
Time difference from Moscow
- 1 hour
Ethnic groups
British 27%, Spanish 24%, Genoese and other Italians 20%, Portuguese 10%, Maltese 8%, and Jews 3%
History
The history of Gibraltar spans over 3,000 years. Gibraltar was first inhabited over 50,000 years ago by Neanderthals. Gibraltar's recorded history began around 950 BC with the Phoenicians, who lived nearby.
During the times of Roman Empire the Rock of Gibraltar belonged to the Romans. Gibraltar became part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania following the collapse of the Roman Empire and came under Muslim Moorish rule in 711 AD.
In 1462. Gibraltar became part of the unified Kingdom of Spain and remained under Spanish rule until 1704. It was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession by an Anglo-Dutch fleet. At the war's end, Spain ceded the territory to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713.
Spain tried to regain control of Gibraltar, which Britain had declared a Crown colony, through military, diplomatic and economic pressure. Gibraltar was besieged and heavily bombarded during three wars between Britain and Spain but the attacks were repulsed on each occasion.
The colony grew rapidly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming one of Britain's most important possessions in the Mediterranean.
After the Second World War the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco revived Spain's claim to the territory. As the territorial dispute intensified, Spain closed its border with Gibraltar between 1969 and 1985.
As a result of series of talks between 1997 and 2002 in September 2006 a three-way agreement was signed. Spain agreed to remove restrictions on air movements, to speed up customs procedures, to implement international telephone dialing, and to allow mobile roaming agreements. Britain agreed to pay increased pensions to Spaniards who had been employed in Gibraltar before the border closed. A new noncolonial constitution came into effect in 2007, but the UK retains responsibility for defense, foreign relations, internal security, and financial stability.
Government type
British overseas territory
Executive branch
Government (10 members) headed by the Chief Minister
Legislative branch
Governor and Gibraltar Parliament (17 members and Speaker)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court and Court of Appeal
GDP per capita rank
11 (2008)
Corruption perceptions index rank
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