About Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.

Geography
The territory covers 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq mi). It shares a 1.2 km (0.75 mi) land border with Spain. On the Spanish side is the town La Línea de la Concepción, a municipality of Cádiz province. The part of Cádiz province next to Gibraltar is called Campo de Gibraltar, literally Gibraltar Countryside. The shoreline measures 12 km (7.5 mi) in length. There are two coasts (sides) of Gibraltar – the East Side, which contains the settlements of Sandy Bay and Catalan Bay, and the West Side, where the vast majority of the population lives.

Having negligible natural resources and few natural freshwater resources, limited to natural wells in the north, until recently Gibraltar used large concrete or natural rock water catchments to collect water. Fresh water from the boreholes is supplemented by two desalination plants: a reverse osmosis plant, constructed in a tunnel within the rock, and a multi-stage flash distillation plant at North Mole.

Gibraltar is one of the most densely populated territories in the world, with approximately 4,290 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,100 /sq mi). The growing demand for space is being increasingly met by land reclamation; reclaimed land currently comprises approximately one tenth of the territory's total area.

The Rock itself is made of limestone and is 426 metres (1,396 ft) high. It contains many tunneled roads, most of which are operated by the military and closed to the public.

Language
As a British overseas territory, the sole official language of Gibraltar is English, and it is used by the Government and in schools. Most locals are bilingual, also speaking Spanish, due to Gibraltar's proximity to Spain. However, because of the varied mix of ethnic groups which reside there, other languages are spoken on The Rock. Arabic is spoken by the Moroccan community, as are Hindi and Sindhi by the Indian community of Gibraltar. Hebrew is also spoken by the Jewish community and the Maltese language is still spoken by some families of Maltese descent.

Currency
Under the terms of the 1934 Currency Notes Act, the Government of Gibraltar issues banknotes which are legal tender alongside Bank of England banknotes in Gibraltar. These notes are backed by sterling reserves held by the Gibraltar government and can be exchanged at parity with sterling through a currency board arrangement. Clearing and settlement of funds is conducted in sterling, and Gibraltar banknotes in circulation bear the words "Pounds sterling". The Euro is unofficially accepted in Gibraltar by most retail outlets, though not by the Post Office or by some payphones.