Gibraltar
Today's Flag
is Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory captured from Spain during the War of Spanish Succession and ultimately ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Gibraltar occupies a critical strategic location at the Atlantic entrance to the Mediterranean. As important today as it was during World War II, the narrow Straights of Gibraltar carry over fifty percent of the world's surface maritime traffic. Guarded by a critical base for the Royal Navy, British forces ensured convoy movement of supplies to Malta and Allied Forces by protecting the 9-mile-wide passage. Gibraltar's economy today relies on tourism, bunkering and financial services.
The United Nations continues to hold a decolonization position with regards to Gibraltar. This is disputed by Gibraltar itself by annually applying to remove itself from the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. With its own Parliament, budget and political institutions, Gibraltarians have overwhelmingly voted in successive referendums to remain part of the United Kingdom. Spain considers Gibraltar to be territory integral to its national boundaries and continues to attempt to reverse the effects of the Treaty of Utrecht. These efforts are complicated by Gibraltar's membership in the EU and Brexit.
The monolithic Rock of Gibraltar is the territory's most recognizable feature, most of which is a nature reserve and home to a tribe of 300 Barbary Macaques - the only wild primates living in Europe. Other interesting aspects of Gibraltar are the miles of subterranean tunnels dug over the last 200 years and the airport. Gibraltar International Airport is unique in that it is the only airport in the world with a main street that crosses the main runway. Protected by barrier arms that come down when aircraft operations are in progress, Winston Churchill Avenue allows pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic the only access to the Spanish mainland.
Quick Facts:
Monarch: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Title: Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
Accession: 6 February 1952
Governor: Vice Admiral Sir David George Steel, KBE, DL, June 2020
Population: 33,676 (click here for Worldometer current statistic)
Subjects of Gibraltar are called: Gibraltarians
State Religion: n/a
Currency: £, Gibraltar Pound: click here for current CAD exchange rate
Capital: Gibraltar
Population: 4,535
Type of Government: British Overseas Territory
Governing Body: UK Parliament, Chief Minister, Parliament
Founded: 4 August 1704, Capture of Gibraltar by Grand Alliance. Formalized by Treaty of Utrecht, 1713.
Flag Adopted: 8 November 1982
Special National Holiday: Gibraltar National Day - 10 September - celebrates the first referendum in 1967, which refused independence from UK.
Maps of Gibraltar: CIA World FactBook