Politically the Faroe Islands is a self-governing part of the Danish kingdom, but historically and culturally it also has close ties to Norway, and Iceland. In 1948 the Faroes received Home Rule, establishing the present governmental structure. In accordance with the Home Rule system, Denmark donates a considerable subsidy to the Faroes, and assume responsibility for Foreign Affairs and Defence. Unlike Denmark, however, The Faroe Islands is not a member of the European Union. Over the last few years, the Faroes have been hit hard by an economic recession.
Unemployment is high.
Fortunately this the downtrend appears to have levelled off at the present time, and many Faroese now hope that the exploitation of expected oil findings around the Faroes will make it easier for the community to emerge from the recession. The Faroese Language. The language spoken here is Faroese, a westnorse language, closely related to Icelandic and Norwegian. Since 1979 the Faroe Islands has administered its own education system. Many young Faroese, however, must still go to Denmark or other countries for higher education.