! Head of state | Queen Elizabeth II |- ! Governor and
Commander-in-Chief | Sir Francis Richards |- ! Chief Minister | Peter Caruana |- ! style="font-weight: normal;" | Area
 - Total
 - % water | not ranked (192 if)
6.5 km²
- |- ! style="font-weight: normal;" | Population
 - Total (2003 E)
 - Density | not ranked (19In case)
27,776
4270/km² |- ! Currency | Gibraltar Pound (ISO 4217: GIP) |- ! style="font-weight: normal;" | Time zone
 - in summer | CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2) |- ! Anthem | Gibraltar Anthem |- ! National day | 10 September |- ! National colours | red and white |- ! Internet TLD | .gi |- ! Calling code | 350¹ |- | colspan="2" | Unity. 9567 from either Spain |}

Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. These are located in southwestern Europe adjoining the southern coast of Spain, a strategical location on the Strait of Gibraltar that links the Northward Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, also placing it between Europe & Africa. A British Armed Forces had a major presence on a territory, & although the forces presence nowadays is tremendously reduced, there are numerous reminders of their former importance.

A issue of sovereignty above Gibraltar occurs as independent issue of contention within Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain typically requests a link to of sovereignty above Gibraltar. The majority of 98.97% of the people voted inside the referendum in November, 2002 not to share sovereignty.

Gibraltar occurs as a portion of the European Union, although some aspects of European law & convention, like a Customs Union & Common Agricultural Policy, do not apply here.

A title of a rock comes from either the Arabic name of Jebel Tarik (جبل طارق) meaning Tariq's mountain. It refers to the Berber general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who conquered Spain in 711. Now, Gibraltar is too known conversationally when 'Gib' or even 'a Rock'.

History
Independent article: History of Gibraltar

Grounds to believe of hominian habitation of the Rock dates back to the Neanderthals. The Neanderthalian skull was found inside Forbes' Quarry within 1848, indeed prior to a "original" discovery in the Neander Valley. Around 1926, the skull of the Neanderthalian tike was obtained inside Devil's Tower.

A Phoenicians are known to have visited a Rock circa 950 BC and named a Rock Calpe. A Carthaginians also visited, however neither class action appears to own settled for good. Plato refers to Gibraltar as one of a Pillars of Hercules along with Jebel Musa or Monte Hacho on the other side of the Strait.

Gibraltar was next visited per Romans. Over again, there is no lasting payout was established. Resulting a fall of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar was visited by the Vandals and later the Goths. A Vandals' stay was irregular; yet, a Visigoths were to remain on the Iberian peninsula from either 414 to 711. In April 30, 711, the Umayyad general Tariq ibn Ziyad, leading a Berber-dominated army, landed at the southern point of the Rock from either present-contemporary Morocco in his quest for Spain.

Little was built when you took a number 1 4 centuries of Moorish control. Nevertheless, around 1160 Abdul Maman ordered that the lasting class action settlement, including a castle, exist as built. A independent tower of this castle remains standing now. Despite a fortification, a rock was overrun by Spanish forces inside 1462. A rock was temporarily owned per King of Castile, but late taken per Duke of Medina Sidonia and passed to his son. Queen Isabella of Castile had her army besiege and re-require Gibraltar for the Spanish kingdom around 1501.

Inside 1704, during a Spanish War of Succession, an Anglo-Dutch Navy began the siege of Gibraltar. It demanded its unconditional surrender & an oath of loyalty to the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne, Charles III. A Governor of Gibraltar refused a ultimatum in 1 August. In a period of the nights of 3 and 4 August, heavy battery took place, targeting a castle & a town itself. A next day a Governor gave up a town to the Prince George of Hesse. Victims inside Gibraltar at a period, whenever it wished to stay, got to recognise Charles III when a newly king of Spain. Numerous did soh. Numbers of significant objects of Gibraltar's history were taken by victims world health organization chose to leave, including the statue of the Holy Crowned Virgin Mary, and a historical documents signed per Spanish Catholic Monarchs inside 1502, granting Gibraltar's coat of arms. These objects remain in the nearby San Roque chapel.

A territory was after ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity by Spain in the 1713 Treaties of Utrecht. Despite a select few tries per Spanish to retake it, virtually all notably in a Outstanding Siege of 1779-1783, the Rock has remained under British control ever since.

In the period of a 2nd Globe War a residents of Gibraltar were evacuated, & the Rock was once again sour into a fort. Control of Gibraltar gave a Allied Powers control of the entry to the Mediterranean Sea (the more side of the Strait existence Spanish territory, & so neutral). the Rock was a key a portion of the Allied supply route to Malta & North Africa, and a horse raceway touching a border was converted into an aerodrome. Germany planned a ocupation of Gibraltar & its handover to Spainside in "Operation Felix" which was due to run in 10th January 1941. It was cancelled due to a reluctance of the Spanish government to permit the Wehrmacht entering Spaaround and then engaging in hostilities against a Rock, its civilians or even a British Army from either a Spanish soil. Franco feared that it may develop been impossible to dislodge the babies subsequently. In any out break, Hitler was too occupy elsewhere inside Europe to give this very much priority. Fallowing a war, a residents returned.

Around 1954, Queen Elizabeth II visited Gibraltar. This prompted Spain (which was still led per dictator Francisco Franco) to renew its claim to sovereignty, which had lain dormant for concluded 150 years. For astir Xxx years, a land border was closed (from either a Spanish side), within an effort to isolate a territory.

Inside 1988, a Special Air Service of the British Army shot dead three unarmed members of the IRA near the Spanish border, claiming it were making "suspicious movements". a subsequent lookup led to the discovery of the car containing the big total of Semtex explosive, which it experienced planned to utilize to bomb the 'Changing of the Guard' ceremony two or three years late.

Politics
Independent article: Politics of Gibraltar, see as well Disputed status of Gibraltar.

As an overseas territory of a UK, Gibraltar has had considerable internal self-self-determination since the introduction of its present constitution inside 1969. A Governor of Gibraltar, appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, is responsible for defence, foreign relations, internal security & fiscal stability. Totally more matters, defined when 'house servant', come a responsibility of the Council of Ministers, with a leader of the majority person in the elective House of Assembly appointed as Chief Minister.

A issue of sovereignty continues to dominate Gibraltar politics. Two independent political parties, a Gibraltar Social-Democrats (GSD) and a Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) are opposed to any transport of sovereignty to Spain. Spaaround continues to asking a link to of sovereignty all over a territory, & a British Government, when stating that there are no vary would choose place while forgoing a consent of the humans of Gibraltar, in 2002 accepted a principle of joint sovereignty between the United Kingdom & Spain. Entirely local political parties opposed this move, instead supporting self-determination for a Rock, as wash the independent UK opposition parties. A notion of accepting an arrangement by using Spaaround was resoundingly rejected per people around 2 referenda held inside 1967 & in 2002, a latter merely months fallowing a joint sovereignty principle was accepted per British government. In two occasions brim over 95 percent of elector said it wanted to remain British; on a latter occasion, the percentage was 98.97 percent. ''(For details in Gibraltar's status in the EU, view Special member state territories and their relations with the EU.)''

Defence
Defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. A army garrison is provided per Royal Gibraltar Regiment, originally a section-half-time reserve click which was laid on the lasting establishment of the British Army in 1990. A regiment includes good-whale & a portion-half-time soldiers recruited from either either Gibraltar, also when British Army regulars posted from more regiments.

the Rock occurs as hearing post for telecommunications throughout Northerly Africa, & because of its location it however remains a key NATO base. British & United states of america ships oft visit a territory.

Geography

A territory covers Sextet.543 square klick (Two.53 square miles). It shares the I.Ii klick land border by owning Spain and has 12 kilometres of shoreline. Its climate is Mediterranean with mild winters & warmly summers. Its terrain occurs as narrow coastal lowland bordering a 426-metre-high Rock of Gibraltar. It has negligible natural resources & limited natural freshfluids system resources, until recently applying big concrete or even natural rock water catchments to collect rain water. It at present has the desalination plant soon to become replaced by the reverse osmosis plant (currently operational) built into a rock itself.

Gibraltar is one of a virtually all densely populated territories in the globe, by using or so 4,245 population by the kilometre² (10,979 by the sq mile). A growing require for space is existence more and more met by land reclamation, which is just about a single tenth of the territory's sum region.

A Rock itself is mass produced of limestone and is 426 metres (1,396 feet) high. It contains several miles of roads, virtually all of which are then more or less the public. Virtually all of its vicinity is covered by the nature and severity reserve, which is front yard to about 250 Barbary Apes, the exclusively semi-uncivilized monkeys in Europe. Superstitious notion holds that whenever ever the Apes leave then may a British, and then it is swell surfed when per government (a situation like correspondent to the ravens of the Tower of London).

Subdivisions
Gibraltar is divided into Sevener residential district. It is employed in a image below, sustaining people numbers from either the Nose count of 2001:

! style="background: #f0f0f0;" | !! style="background: #f0f0f0;" | Residential district !! style="background: #f0f0f0;" | People !! style="background: #f0f0f0;" | % |- | align="right" | One || East Side || align="right" | 429 || align="right" | One.54% |- | align="right" | Ii || N Dominion || align="right" | 4,116 || align="right" | Xiv.97% |- | align="right" | Triad || Reclamation Areas || align="right" | 9,599 || align="right" | 34.91% |- | align="right" | Quaternity || Sandpits Front yard || align="right" | 2,207 || align="right" | Octet.03% |- | align="right" | Quintuplet || South Territorial dominion || align="right" | 4,257 || align="right" | Fifteen.48% |- | align="right" | Sextuplet || Town Locality || align="right" | 3,588 || align="right" | Long dozen.05% |- | align="right" | Seven || Upper Town || align="right" | 2,805 || align="right" | X.20% |- | align="right" | || Gibraltar || align="right" | 27,495 || align="right" | 98.18% |}

Culture
Independent article: Culture of Gibraltar

A culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. When there are Andalusian & British influences, a ethnic origins of virtually all Gibraltarians is does'nt confined to British or even Andalusian ethnicities. Virtually all ethnicities include Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese, & Germans. The handful of more Gibraltar residents come Jewish of Sephardic or of North African origin or Hindu.

British influence remains hard. Although Gibraltarians typically speak to both more within an English-influenced Andalusian accent known as Yanito or even Llanito, English is a language of government, commerce, education and the media. Gibraltarians running in to higher education attend university in the UK, when clean patients requiring medical coarse of action non available on the Rock.

Gibraltar celebrates its National Day annually in 10th September, a date chosen to commemorate a 1967 Referendum which was a number one work of self-determination of the humans of Gibraltar. Despite the political undertones of the day, these are a lot a merry occasion, sustaining everyone dressing around Red & White and congregating in the main square (Casemates) to celebrate. 30,000 red & whiten balloons come freed followed by music, dance & more cases around Gibraltar.

Miscellaneous
Communications in Gibraltar Transport in Gibraltar