Gibraltar
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti  (Latin) "Conquerable by no enemy."1
Anthem: God Save the Queen (official anthem), Gibraltar Anthem (local anthem)[1]
Location of  Gibraltar  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Map of Gibraltar
Capital		Gibraltar 36°8′N 5°21′W / 36.133°N 5.35°W / 36.133; -5.35
Largest Most populated district		Westside
Official language(s)		English
Spoken Languages		English Spanish Llanito
Ethnic groups		Gibraltarian (of mixed Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish descent), other British, Moroccan and Indian
Demonym		Gibraltarian
Government		British overseas territory (constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democratic dependency)
-	Monarch	H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
-	Governor	Sir Adrian Johns
-	Chief Minister	Fabian Picardo
Event		Date
-	Captured	4 August 1704[2]
-	Ceded	11 April 1713[3] (Treaty of Utrecht)
-	National Day	10 September
-	Constitution Day	29 January
Area
-	Total	6.8 km2 (229th) 2.6 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0%
Population
-	2009 estimate	29,431 (211th)
-	Density	4,328/km2 (3rd) 11,320/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	£1 Billion
-	Per capita	£27,468 (n/a)
HDI (2011)		0.863 (very high ˡ) (28th)
Currency		Pound Sterling £3 (GBP)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the		right4
ISO 3166 code		GI
Internet TLD		.gi5
Calling code		3506
Patron saint		Bernard of Clairvaux & Our Lady of Europe
1	HDI of the UK
2	As a Special Member State territory of the United Kingdom.
3	Coins and sterling notes are issued by the Government of Gibraltar.
4	Unlike all other UK dependencies but the BIOT.
5	The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union members.
6	Before 10 February 2007, 9567 from Spain.

Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.^[4]

An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.^[5][6]

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory.^[6] Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.

Etymology[link]

The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Tāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Tariq."^[7] It refers to the geological formation, the Rock of Gibraltar, which in turn was named after the Berber Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Moorish force in 711 under the command of Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I. Earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is colloquially referred to as Gib or the Rock.

History[link]

View of the northern face of the Moorish Castle's Tower of Homage, Gibraltar's first permanent settlement, built around 711.

Evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 128,000 and 24,000 BC has been discovered at Gorham's Cave, making Gibraltar the last known holdout of the Neanderthals.^[8] Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC. Subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD. Seven centuries of Moorish control ended when Gibraltar was captured by the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1462 as part of the Spanish Reconquista.

After the conquest, King Henry IV assumed the title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the municipal area of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar.^[9] Six years later Gibraltar was restored to the Duke of Medina Sidonia who sold it in 1474 to a group of Jewish conversos from Cordova and Seville in exchange for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years, after which time the 4,350 Jews were expelled by the Duke as part of the Inquisition.^[10] In 1501 Gibraltar passed back to the hands of the Spanish Crown and Isabella I of Castile issued a Royal Warrant granting Gibraltar the coat of arms that it still uses today.

In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, a combined Anglo-Dutch force captured the town of Gibraltar, leading to a permanent exodus of much of the existing population to the surrounding areas of the Campo de Gibraltar. Under the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in perpetuity. Spain unsuccessfully attempted to regain control in 1727 and during the Great Siege of Gibraltar which lasted from 1779 to 1783.

Gibraltar became a key base for the British Royal Navy and played an important role prior to the Battle of Trafalgar and during the Crimean War of 1854–56, due to its strategic location. Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal as it lay on the sea route between the UK and the British Empire east of Suez. In the later 19th century there were major investments in improving the fortifications and the port.^[11]

During World War II, Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated (mainly to London, England, but also to parts of Morocco, Madeira and Jamaica) and the Rock was strengthened as a fortress. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's reluctance to allow the German Army onto Spanish soil frustrated a German plan to capture the Rock, codenamed Operation Felix. In the 1950s, Franco renewed Spain's claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar and restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain under British sovereignty in a 1967 referendum which led to the passing of the Gibraltar Constitution Order in 1969. In response, Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links.^[12] The border with Spain was partially reopened in 1982, and fully reopened in 1985 prior to Spain's accession to the European Community.

In a referendum held in 2002, Gibraltarians rejected by an overwhelming majority (99%) a proposal of shared sovereignty on which Spain and Britain were said to have reached "broad agreement".^[13][14] The British government has committed itself to respecting the Gibraltarians' wishes.^[15] A new Constitution Order was approved in referendum in 2006. A process of tripartite negotiations started in 2006 between Spain, Gibraltar and the UK, ending some restrictions and dealing with disputes in some specific areas such as air movements, customs procedures, telecommunications, pensions and cultural exchange.^[16]

Government and politics[link]

Western, John Mackintosh Square entrance to the Gibraltar Parliament.

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory. The British Nationality Act 1981 granted Gibraltarians full British citizenship.

Under its current Constitution, Gibraltar has almost complete internal democratic self-government through an elected parliament,^{[17][18][19][20]} elected for a term of up to four years. The unicameral Parliament presently consists of seventeen elected members, and the Speaker who is not elected, but appointed by a resolution of the Parliament.^[21] The Government consists of ten elected members. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor of Gibraltar. Defence, foreign policy and internal security are formally the responsibility of the Governor; judicial and other appointments are also made on behalf of the Queen in consultation with the head of the elected government.^{[22][23][24][25][26][26][27]}

The 2011 election was contested by the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP)-Gibraltar Liberal Party (GLP) Alliance and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). A new party, the PDP, was formed in 2006 and fielded candidates in the 2007 election, but none were elected. The head of Government is the Chief Minister (as of December 2011, Fabian Picardo). All local political parties oppose any transfer of sovereignty to Spain, instead supporting self-determination. The main UK opposition parties also support this policy and it is UK Government policy not to engage in talks about the sovereignty of Gibraltar without the consent of the people of Gibraltar.^[28]

Gibraltar is part of the European Union, having joined via the Single European Act 1972 and British Treaty of Accession in 1973, with exemption from some areas such as the Customs union and Common Agricultural Policy. The Treaties relating to coal and steel, agriculture and fisheries do not apply simply because Gibraltar does not produce any of those resources. After a ten-year campaign for the right to vote in European Elections, from 2004, the people of Gibraltar participated in elections for the European Parliament as part of the South West England constituency.^[29]

Geography[link]

View of the Rock of Gibraltar from Algeciras Bay depicting Westside and the town area, 2006.

The territory covers 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq mi) and shares a 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) land border with Spain. On the Spanish side lies the town of La Línea de la Concepción, a municipality of the province of Cádiz. The Spanish hinterland forms the comarca of Campo de Gibraltar (literally Gibraltar Countryside). The shoreline measures 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) in length. There are two coasts (sides) of Gibraltar – the East Side, which contains the settlements of Sandy Bay and Catalan Bay, and the Westside, where the vast majority of the population lives. Gibraltar has no administrative divisions but is divided into seven Major Residential Areas.

Having negligible natural resources and few natural freshwater resources, limited to natural wells in the north, until recently Gibraltar used large concrete and/or natural rock water catchments to collect rainwater. Fresh water from the boreholes is supplemented by two desalination plants: a reverse osmosis plant, constructed in a tunnel within the rock, and a multi-stage flash distillation plant at North Mole.^[30]

Gibraltar's terrain consists of the 426-metre (1,398 ft) high Rock of Gibraltar made of Jurassic limestone, and the narrow coastal lowland surrounding it.^[31] It contains many tunnelled roads, most of which are still operated by the military and closed to the general public.

Climate[link]

Gibraltar has a Subtropical-Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa),^[32][33] with mild winters and warm summers. Rain occurs mainly in winter, with summer being generally dry. Its average annual temperature is about 21 °C (70 °F) during the day and 15 °C (59 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the temperature ranges from 11–18 °C (52–64 °F) during the day and 9–14 °C (48–57 °F) at night, the average sea temperature is 15–16 °C (59–61 °F). In the warmest month, August, the typically temperature ranges from 25–31 °C (77–88 °F) during the day, above 20 °C (68 °F) at night, the average sea temperature is 22 °C (72 °F).^[34]