Map of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: The islands lie approximately 1000 km east of the Falkland Islands. Grytviken on South Georgia was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today the station houses a small military garrison. The islands have large bird and seal populations and recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters the UK in 1993 extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 miles to 200 miles around each island.


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Location: in the South Atlantic Ocean, off the south Argentine coast, southeast of the Falkland Islands

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Antarctic Region

Area
Total: total: 4,066 km²; land: 4,066 km²

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: NA km; territorial sea: 12 nm

Maritime claims

Climate: variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year, interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow

Terrain: most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes

Elevation

Natural resources: fish

Land use: arable land: 0%; permanent crops: 0%; meadows and pastures: 0%; forest and woodland: 0%; other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen)

Irrigated land: 0 km²

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: no indigenous population; there is a small military garrison on South Georgia, and the British Antarctic Survey has a biological station on; Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Demographic profile

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Dependency ratios

Median age

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Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South; Georgia; weather conditions generally make it difficult to approach the South; Sandwich Islands; the South Sandwich Islands are subject to active volcanism; Note: the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage

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Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

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Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; conventional short form: none

Government type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: none; Grytviken on South Georgia is the garrison town

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday

Constitution: 3 October 1985

Legal system: English common law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch: British monarch, commissioner

Legislative branch: none

Judicial branch: none

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

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Industries

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Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $291,777; expenditures $451,011, including capital expenditures of $N/A (FY88 est.)

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Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 900 kW capacity; 2 million kWh produced, NA kWh per capita (1992)

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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

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Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: total: 5; usable: 5; with permanent-surface runways: 2; with runways over 3,659 m: 0; with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1; with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 0

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs