Man, Isle Of

Man, Isle of

Introduction Man, Isle of -
Background: Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. Geography Man, Isle of
Location: Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland
Geographic coordinates: 54 15 N, 4 30 W
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 572 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 160 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time
Terrain: hills in north and south bisected by central valley
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m highest point: Snaefell 621 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA Environment - current issues: waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution
Geography - note: one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary People Man, Isle of -
Population: 73,873 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.52% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 11.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/ female total population: 0.95 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.81 years female: 81.36 years (2002 est.) male: 74.44 years
Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA% HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women) adjective: Manx
Ethnic groups: Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton
Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends
Languages: English, Manx Gaelic
Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% Government Man, Isle of -
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Isle of Man
Dependency status: British crown dependency
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Douglas Administrative divisions: there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections
Independence: none (British crown dependency)
National holiday: Tynwald Day, 5 July
Constitution: unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution
Legal system: English common law and Manx statute
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor His Excellency Sir Timothy DAUNT (since 27 October 1995) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five- year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19
Judicial branch: High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) Political parties and leaders: Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA] note: most members sit as independents Political pressure groups and none
leaders: International organization none
participation: Diplomatic representation in the US: none (British crown dependency) Diplomatic representation from the none (British crown dependency)
US:
Flag description: red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two- sided emblem is used Economy Man, Isle of
Economy - overview: Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high- technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 13.5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA% Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 36,610 (1998) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10%
Unemployment rate: 0.7% (February 2002)
Budget: revenues: $485 million expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Industries: financial services, light manufacturing, tourism Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (FY96/97)
Agriculture - products: cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry
Exports: $NA
Exports - commodities: tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb
Exports - partners: UK
Imports: $NA
Imports - commodities: timber, fertilizers, fish
Imports - partners: UK
Debt - external: $NA Economic aid - recipient: $NA
Currency: British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound
Currency code: GBP
Exchange rates: Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March Communications Man, Isle of - Telephones - main lines in use: 51,000 (1999) Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: NA Television broadcast stations: 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999)
Televisions: 27,490 (1999)
Internet country code: .im Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
Internet users: NA Transportation Man, Isle of -
Railways: total: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001)
Highways: total: 800 km paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey
Merchant marine: total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5
Airports: 1 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001) Military Man, Isle of -
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK Transnational Issues Man, Isle of - Disputes - international: none

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Island, in the Irish Sea off the northwestern coast of England.

Area: 221 sq mi (572 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 76,900. It is a self-governing crown possession of Britain, with its own legislature. The popularly elected House of Keys constitutes one of the most ancient legislative assemblies in the world. Capital: Douglas (pop., 2001: 25,347). The island is about 30 mi (48 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide. The Manx breed of tailless cats is believed to have originated there. The isle was home to Irish missionaries beginning in the 5th century AD. It was held by the Norse (9th–13th centuries), Scots (13th–14th centuries), and English settlers (from the 14th century). It was made a crown possession in 1828.

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▪ island, crown possession, British Isles

also spelled  Mann , Manx-Gaelic  Ellan Vannin , or  Mannin , Latin  Mona , or  Monapia 

Isle of Man, flag of the one of the British Isles, located in the Irish Sea off the northwest coast of England. The island lies roughly equidistant between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom but rather is a crown possession (since 1828) that is self-governing in its internal affairs under the supervision of the British Home Office.

      The Isle of Man is about 30 miles (48 km) long by 10 miles (16 km) wide, its main axis being southwest to northeast. It has an area of 221 square miles (572 square km). The island consists of a central mountain mass culminating in Snaefell (2,036 feet [621 m]) and extending north and south in low-lying agricultural land. Man's coastline is rocky and has fine cliff scenery. The grass-covered slate peaks of the central massif are smooth and rounded as a result of action during various glacial periods. The island's landscape is treeless except in sheltered places. To the southwest lies an islet, the Calf of Man, with precipitous cliffs, which is administered by the Manx National Heritage as a bird sanctuary.

 The climate is maritime temperate, with cool summers and mild winters. The average mean temperature in February is 41° F (4.9° C) and is 58° F (14.3° C) in August. The average annual rainfall is 45 inches (1,140 mm). The native flora and fauna are of little interest, but the domestic Manx cat, a distinctive tailless breed (see photograph—>), is traditionally believed to have originated on the island.

      The Isle of Man has been inhabited by humans since the Mesolithic Period. It became the home of many Irish missionaries in the centuries following the teaching of St. Patrick (5th century AD). Among its earliest inhabitants were Celts, and their language, Manx (Manx language), which is closely related to Gaelic, remained the everyday speech of the people until the first half of the 19th century. The number of Manx speakers is now negligible, however. Norse (Viking) invasions began about AD 800, and the isle was a dependency of Norway until 1266. During this period Man came under a Scandinavian system of government that has remained practically unchanged ever since.

      In 1266 the king of Norway sold his suzerainty over Man to Scotland, and the island came under the control of England in 1341. From this time on, the island's successive feudal lords, who styled themselves “kings of Mann,” were all English. In 1406 the English crown granted the island to Sir John Stanley, and his family ruled it almost uninterruptedly until 1736. (The Stanleys refused to be called “kings” and instead adopted the title “lord of Mann,” which still holds.) The lordship of Man passed to the dukes of Atholl in 1736, but in the decades that followed, the island became a major centre for the contraband trade, thus depriving the British government of valuable customs revenues. In response, the British Parliament purchased sovereignty over the island in 1765 and acquired the Atholl family's remaining prerogatives on the island in 1828.

      The government consists of an elected president; a Legislative Council, or upper house; and a popularly elected House of Keys, or lower house. The two houses function as separate legislative bodies but come together to form what is known as the Tynwald Court to transact legislative business. The House of Keys constitutes one of the most ancient legislative assemblies in the world. The Isle of Man levies its own taxes.

      Though fishing, agriculture, and smuggling were formerly important, offshore financial services, high-technology manufacturing, and tourism from Britain are now the mainstays of the island's economy. The island's annual Tourist Trophy motorcycle races (in June) attract many visitors. The island's farms produce oats, wheat, barley, turnips, and potatoes, and cattle and sheep graze on the pastures of the central massif. The principal towns are Douglas, the capital; Peel; Castletown; and Ramsey. There is an airport near Castletown, and packet boats connect Man with the British mainland. Pop. (2006) 80,058.

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