| | Isle of Man |  |  | | Basic facts | | | The country | |
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| | Capital: Douglas | | Area: 572 sq km; 227 sq miles | | Population: 73,117 (Estimated 2000) | | Urbanisation: | |
Economy
| Exports: tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb
| Industry: financial services, light manufacturing, tourism
| Agriculture: cereals, vegetables, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry
| Currency: 1 Manx pound consisting of 100 pence (equivalent to sterling)
| Natural resources:
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The people
| Ethnic: Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton
| Language: English, Manx Gaelic
| Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends
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The history
| Independence: The Isle of Man has been under the British crown since 1765. Previously it had formed part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until it was ceded to Scotland in the 13th century.
| Government: The Isle of Man is a UK Crown dependency and, by convention, the Crown is responsible for its defence, external relations and "ultimately the good government of the Island". Subject to these conventional responsibilities, the Island has a high degree of autonomy with its own legal system, judiciary, government and parliament, Tynwald, which celebrated its millennium in 1979 and lays claim to be the oldest parliament in the world in continuous existence. The Tynwald's lower house is called the House of Keys and the upper chambers are entitled the Legislative Council.
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