Map of Southern Ocean | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

top of page


Background: A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean but larger than the Arctic Ocean).


top of page


Location: body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica

Geographic coordinates: 65 00 S 0 00 E (nominally) but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude

Map reference: Antarctic Region

Area
Total: 20.327 million km²
Note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of the US

Land boundaries

Coastline: 17,968 km

Maritime claims

Climate: sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter

Terrain: the Southern Ocean is deep 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
Extremes highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin manganese nodules possible placer deposits sand and gravel fresh water as icebergs; squid whales and seals - none exploited; krill fishes

Land use

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue

Geography
Note: the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds


top of page


Population

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate

Death rate

Net migration rate

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
International agreements note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal unreported and unregulated fishing which in the 2000-01 season landed by one estimate 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists most of them seaborne visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica compared to 14,762 the previous year.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports

Imports

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


top of page


Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry) but Argentina Australia Chile France NZ Norway and UK assert claims (some overlapping) including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs