43 Facts About The Faroe Islands

1.

Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1380.

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2.

The Faroe Islands was sent back to take possession of the islands for Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway from 995 to 1000.

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3.

The trade monopoly in the Faroe Islands was abolished in 1856, after which the area developed as a modern fishing nation with its own fishing fleet.

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4.

The Faroe Islands subsequently declared independence on 18 September 1946; however, this declaration was annulled by Denmark on 20 September on the grounds that a majority of the Faroese voters had not supported independence and King Christian X of Denmark dissolved the Faroese Løgting on 24 September.

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5.

In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Economic Community.

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6.

Faroe Islands are an island group consisting of 18 major islands about 655 kilometres off the coast of Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Iceland and Norway, the closest neighbours being the Northern Isles and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

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7.

The Faroe Islands are rugged and rocky with some low peaks; the coasts are mostly cliffs.

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8.

Faroe Islands are made up of an approximately six-kilometres-thick succession of mostly basaltic lava that was part of the great North Atlantic Igneous Province during the Paleogene period.

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9.

The Faroe Islands are windy, cloudy, and cool throughout the year with an average of 210 rainy or snowy days per year.

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10.

The natural vegetation of the Faroe Islands is dominated by arctic-alpine plants, wildflowers, grasses, moss, and lichen.

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11.

Bird fauna of the Faroe Islands is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land such as heather, probably because of the lack of woodland and other suitable habitats.

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12.

Apart from these, there is a local domestic sheep breed, the Faroe sheep, and there once was a variety of feral sheep, which survived on Litla Dimun until the mid-nineteenth century.

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13.

Domestic animals of the Faroe Islands are a result of 1,200 years of isolated breeding.

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14.

Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation under the external sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark.

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15.

From ancient times the Faroe Islands had a parliament, which was abolished in 1816, and the Faroe Islands were to be governed as an ordinary Danish amt, with the Amtmand as its head of government.

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16.

The Faroe Islands are home to a notable independence movement that has seen an increase in popular support within recent decades.

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17.

The first time in 2011, when the then prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen denounced it as incompatible with Denmark's constitution, stating that if the Faroe Islands wished to continue with the move, they must declare independence.

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18.

Faroe Islands are not fully independent, but they do have political relations directly with other countries through agreement with Denmark.

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19.

The Faroe Islands are a member of some international organisations as though they were an independent country.

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20.

Faroe Islands are a member of several international sports federations like UEFA, FIFA in football and FINA in swimming and EHF in handball and have their own national teams.

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21.

Faroe Islands make their own agreements with other countries regarding trade and commerce.

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22.

In mid-2005, representatives of the Faroe Islands raised the possibility of their territory joining the European Free Trade Association.

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23.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Faroe Islands entered a deep economic crisis leading to heavy emigration; however, this trend reversed in subsequent years to a net immigration.

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24.

Levels of education in the Faroe Islands are primary, secondary and higher education.

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25.

One of the biggest private companies of the Faroe Islands is the salmon farming company Bakkafrost, which is the largest of the four salmon farming companies in the Faroe Islands and the eighth biggest in the world.

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26.

The Faroe Islands were long isolated from the main cultural phases and movements that swept across parts of Europe.

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27.

The Faroe Islands's daughter, Rakel Helmsdal was born on 1966, and is a writer, best known for her children's books, for which she has won several prizes and nominations.

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28.

The Faroe Islands won the Nordic Children's Book Prize for this book, White Raven Deutsche Jugendbibliothek and nominated the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize and the Children and Youth Literature Prize of the Nordic Council.

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29.

Faroe Islands have an active music scene, with live music being a regular part of the Islands' life and many Faroese being proficient at a number of instruments.

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30.

The Faroe Islands have their own orchestra and many different choirs; the best-known of these is Havnarkorið.

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31.

Nordic House in the Faroe Islands is the most important cultural institution in the Faroes.

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32.

Mutton of the Faroe sheep is the basis of many meals, and one of the most popular treats is skerpikjøt, well aged, wind-dried mutton, which is quite chewy.

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33.

Whaling in the Faroe Islands is regulated by Faroese authorities but not by the International Whaling Commission as there are disagreements about the commission's legal authority to regulate cetacean hunts.

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34.

Faroe Islands have competed in every biennial Island Games since they were established in 1985.

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35.

The Faroe Islands are a full member of UEFA and the Faroe Islands national football team competes in the UEFA European Football Championship qualifiers.

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36.

The Faroe Islands is a full member of FIFA and therefore the Faroe Islands football team competes in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

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37.

Faroe Islands are a full member of FINA and compete under their own flag at World Championships, European Championships and World Cup events.

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38.

The Faroe Islands compete in the Paralympics and have won 1 gold, 7 silver, and 5 bronze medals since the 1984 Summer Paralympics.

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39.

The Faroe Islands competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in double sculler light weight together with Juliane Rasmussen.

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40.

The Faroe Islands is the current Danish record holder in the men's indoor rowing, heavy weight; he broke a nine-year-old record in January 2015 and improved it in January 2016.

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41.

The Faroe Islands has competed at the 2015 World Rowing Championships making it to the semifinal; he competed at the 2015 World Rowing Championship under-23 and made it to the final where he placed fourth.

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42.

At the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Faroe Islands were not allowed to compete under the Faroese flag; they were allowed to compete under the Ligue Europeenne de Natation flag.

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43.

Faroe Islands was given another chance to compete internationally in esports, this time at the 2018 Northern European Minor Championship.

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