Faroe Island (Faroe Islands)
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They are located 200 mi north-northwest of the United Kingdom, and about halfway between Norway (360 mi away) and Iceland (270 mi away). The islands form part of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with mainland Denmark and Greenland. The islands have a total area of about 540 sqmi with a population of 54,000 as of June 2022.
The terrain is rugged, and the subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) is windy, wet, cloudy, and cool. Temperatures for such a northerly climate are moderated by the Gulf Stream, averaging above freezing throughout the year, and hovering around 12 C in summer and 5 °C (41 °F) in winter. The northerly latitude also results in perpetual civil twilight during summer nights and very short winter days.
Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1380. In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to Sweden, whereas Denmark kept its Atlantic territories, which included the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland.
While part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands have been self-governing since 1948, controlling most areas apart from military defence, policing, justice, currency, and foreign affairs. Because the Faroe Islands are not part of the same customs area as Denmark, the Faroe Islands have an independent trade policy, and can establish trade agreements with other states. The Faroes have an extensive bilateral free trade agreement with Iceland, known as the Hoyvík Agreement. In the Nordic Council, they are represented as part of the Danish delegation. In certain sports, the Faroe Islands field their own national teams. They did not become a part of the European Economic Community in 1973, instead keeping the autonomy over their own fishing waters.
In Faroese, the name appears as Føroyar. Oyar represents the plural of oy, older Faroese for 'island'. Due to sound changes, the modern Faroese word for island is oyggj. The first element, før, may reflect an Old Norse word fær ('sheep'), although this analysis is sometimes disputed because Faroese now uses the word seyður (from Old Norse sauðr) to mean 'sheep'. Another possibility is that the Irish monks, who settled the island around 625, had already given the islands a name related to the Gaelic word fearann, meaning 'land' or 'estate'. This name could then have been passed on to the Norwegian settlers, who then added oyar (islands). The name thus translates as either 'Islands of Sheep' or 'Land Islands'.
In English, it may be seen as a tautology to say the Faroe Islands, since the oe comes from an element meaning 'island'. This is seen in the BBC Shipping Forecast, where the waters around the islands are called Faeroes. The name is also rarely spelled Faeroe.
