{"id":714,"date":"2013-08-26T02:52:28","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T02:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.populationfun.com\/?p=714"},"modified":"2018-12-19T16:47:27","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T16:47:27","slug":"faroe-islands-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.populationfun.com\/faroe-islands-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Faroe Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Faroese flag<\/p><\/div>\n

The Faroe Islands are an island group and archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. About eight times the size of Washington DC, the Faroe Islands have a total area of only 538 square miles, which makes it the world’s 183rd country by land mass. Home to almost 50,000 people, Faroe Islands is one of the world’s least populous nations, ranking 210 out of 239 states and territories. Torshavn is Faroe’s capital and largest city with a population of only 20,000 inhabitants and an area of about 61 square miles.<\/p>\n

Basic History of the\u00a0Faroe Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"faroe_map\"<\/a>The Faroe Islands were established in 825, when Viking colonists placed their parliament in the Tinganes peninsula, also establishing Torshavn as capital city. The Faroe Islands were controlled by Norway until 1814, when Denmark<\/strong> took possession of the territory once the Kalmar Union between the two Scandinavian countries was dissolved. The Faroes were occupied by British troops in 1940, during World War II, but Denmark regained control in 1945. However, the Faroese home-rule was introduced in 1948, and the islands gained a high degree of autonomy, with Torshavn taking control of most domestic matters except military, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs.\u00a0 In 1973, the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Community, which later became the European Union. The country is now a parliamentary democracy under Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.<\/p>\n

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The Faroe Islands have come under increasing scrutiny for their annual slaughter of hundreds of pilot whales. Dating back hundreds of years, the Faroese hold that the pilot whales are not endangered, that the entire whale is used for food and other products and that the hunt is deeply traditional. Much focus and notoriety came to the islands when Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society<\/a> returned in 2011 to expose the Grind whale hunt on their television show Whale Wars Viking Shores.<\/p>\n