Environment: precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets

Note: strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands

- People
Population: 47,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Faroese (sing., pl.); adjective—Faroese