The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands as it is for the other Crown Dependancy, the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territories The Crown Dependencies are neither members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor part of the European Union. They have a total population of about 171,916, and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207 respectively.
Guernsey is the second largest island in the Channel Islands, located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It forms the major part of the jurisdiction of the same name, which also comprises three other inhabited islands and many small islets and rocks. The jurisdiction has a population of 63,950 and the island has a land area of 24 square miles (62 km2).
Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2). Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island.
The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both located in the English Channel and together known as the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. They are not parts of the United Kingdom (UK) nor are they British Overseas Territories. They have the status of "territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible", rather than sovereign states. As a result, they are not member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. However, they do have relationships with the Commonwealth and other international organizations, and are members of the British–Irish Council. They have their own teams in the Commonwealth Games.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi) and an estimated total population of 67,334.
St. Peter Port is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958.
The culture of Guernsey in the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a culture which has been shaped by its indigenous Norman language and traditions as well as French and British cultural influences. Cultural trends from immigrant communities such as the Portuguese have also been added.
The Sark football team represented the Channel Island of Sark in football.
Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Common Travel Area, allowing passport-free travel to and from the United Kingdom, Jersey, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland. Travel to the Schengen Area of Europe requires a passport or an EU national identity document and from 2025 entry to the Schengen Area will require compliance with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and non EU citizens may need a visa. Entry from the Schengen Area requires a passport, except when a concession is in place for short trips to Guernsey, when an EU ID card is acceptable.
Guernsey participates in its own right in the Commonwealth Games.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guernsey:
The flag of Sark is white with a red St. George's cross and a red canton containing the two yellow lions from the flag of Normandy. The flag was formally granted as the Flag of Sark in 2020.
This page list topics related to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, including Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and smaller islands.
Rugby union in the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a popular sport. Outside the island of Guernsey itself, it is occasionally played in Alderney and Sark. Sark has its own rugby team, although it regularly has to pick up "guest" players to make up its numbers.
A Guernsey-variant British passport, also known as the Guernsey Passport, is a British passport issued to British citizens who are in the Bailiwick of Guernsey by the Passport Office of the Customs and Immigration Department in St Peter Port, Guernsey.
Footes Lane is a multi-use sports stadium in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey and is the main sports venue on the island. It has a capacity of 5,000 with 720 seated. The stadium is the national stadium of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
Education in the Bailiwick of Guernsey is the combined education systems of Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. In Guernsey, it is overseen by the Education Section of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture, part of the States of Guernsey. The States manage a number of island schools, including three comprehensive secondary schools and one grammar school, as well as the island's higher education facility, the Guernsey Institute. There are also a number of private schools on the island.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Crown dependency of Guernsey have improved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity for both men and women is legal in Guernsey. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2 May 2017 in Guernsey, and since 14 June 2018 in its dependency, Alderney. Legislation approving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in its other dependency, Sark was given royal assent on 11 March 2020. Guernsey is the only part of the British Isles to have never enacted civil partnership legislation, though civil partnerships performed in the United Kingdom were recognised for succession purposes. Since April 2017, same-sex couples can adopt in the entire Bailiwick. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 2004. Transgender people can legally change gender since 2007.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with their own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom, but, as its description suggests, a possession of the Crown. Consequently, though it lies within the Common Travel Area, it was never part of the European Union.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples in Guernsey was passed by the States of Guernsey on 21 September 2016, and took effect on 2 May 2017. Same-sex marriage laws took effect in Alderney on 14 June 2018, and Sark on 23 April 2020.
