Map of Falkland Islands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. With hostilities ended and Argentine forces withdrawn, UK administration resumed. In response to renewed calls from Argentina for Britain to relinquish control of the islands, a referendum was held in March 2013, which resulted in 99.8% of the population voting to remain a part of the UK.


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Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 500 km east of southern Argentina

Geographic coordinates: 51 45 S, 59 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 12,173 km²
Land: 12,173 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; average annual rainfall is 60 cm in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but typically does not accumulate

Terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Usborne 705 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Natural resources: fish, squid, wildlife, calcified seaweed, sphagnum moss

Land use
Agricultural land: 92.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 92.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 0% (2018 est.)
Other: 7.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: NA

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: strong winds persist throughout the year

Geography
Note: deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season


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Population
Distribution: a very small population, with most residents living in and around Stanley: 3,662 (2021 est.)
Note: data include all persons usually resident in the islands at the time of the 2021 census
Growth rate: 0.01% (2014 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Falkland Islander(s)
Adjective: Falkland Island

Ethnic groups: Falkland Islander 48.3%, British 23.1%, St. Helenian 7.5%, Chilean 4.6%, mixed 6%, other 8.5%, unspecified 2% (2016 est.)
Note: data represent population by national identity

Languages: English 89%, Spanish 7.7%, other 3.3% (2006 est.)

Religions: Christian 57.1%, other 1.6%, none 35.4%, unspecified 6% (2016 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 39.8
Youth dependency ratio: 24.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 14.9
Potential support ratio: 6.7 (2021)

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.01% (2014 est.)

Birth rate: 10.9 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Net migration rate: NA

Population distribution: a very small population, with most residents living in and around Stanley

Urbanization
Urban population: 79.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.53% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2,000 STANLEY (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: overfishing by unlicensed vessels is a problem; reindeer - introduced to the islands in 2001 from South Georgia - are part of a farming effort to produce specialty meat and diversify the islands' economy; this is the only commercial reindeer herd in the world unaffected by the 1986 Chornobyl disaster; grazing threatens important habitats including tussac grass and its ecosystem with penguins and sea lions; soil erosion from fires

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
Total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
Note: sex ratio is somewhat skewed by the high proportion of males at the Royal Air Force station, Mount Pleasant Airport (MPA); excluding MPA, the sex ratio of the total population would be 1.04

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: (2017 est.) 77.9
Male: 75.6
Female: 79.6

Total fertility rate: NA

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 78.2% of population
Improved total: 95.3% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 21.8% of population
Unimproved total: 4.7% of population (2020)

Current health expenditure: NA

Physicians density: NA

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Etymology: the archipelago takes its name from the Falkland Sound, the strait separating the two main islands; the channel itself was named after the Viscount of FALKLAND, who sponsored an expedition to the islands in 1690; the Spanish name for the archipelago derives from the French "Iles Malouines," meaning Islands of Malo, the name applied to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de BOUGAINVILLE in 1764 after the port of Saint-Malo

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Legislative Assembly); self-governing overseas territory of the UK

Capital
Name: Stanley
Geographic coordinates: 51 42 S, 57 51 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: named after Edward SMITH-STANLEY (1799-1869), the 14th Earl of Derby, a British statesman and three-time prime minister of the UK who never visited the islands

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Constitution
History: previous 1985; latest entered into force 1 January 2009 (The Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008)

Legal system: English common law and local statutes

International law organization participation

Citizenship: see United Kingdom

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Alison BLAKE (since 23 July 2022)
Head of government: Chief Executive Andy KEELING (since April 2021)
Cabinet: Executive Council elected by the Legislative Council
Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; chief executive appointed by the governor

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Legislative Assembly, formerly the Legislative Council (10 seats; 5 members directly elected in the Stanley constituency and 3 members in the Camp constituency by simple majority vote, 2 appointed non-voting ex-officio members - the chief executive, appointed by the governor, and the financial secretary; members serve 4-year terms); note - several previous referendums - the latest in September 2020 - on whether to merge the Stanley and Camp constituencies into a single islands wide constituency, failed
Elections: last held on 4 November 2021 (next to be held in November 2025)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independent 8; composition of elected members -men 6, women 2, percent of women 25%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, the chief justice as an ex officio non-resident member, and 2 justices of appeal); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice); note - appeals beyond the Court of Appeal are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice, court of appeal president, and justices appointed by the governor; tenure specified in each justice's instrument of appointment
Subordinate courts: Magistrate's Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions); Court of Summary Jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders: none; all independents

International organization participation: UPU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas territory of the UK)
From the us embassy: none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina)

Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising was once the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT

National symbols: ram

National anthem
Name: "Song of the Falklands"
Lyrics/music: Christopher LANHAM
Note: adopted 1930s; the song is the local unofficial anthem; as a territory of the United Kingdom, "God Save the King" is official (see United Kingdom)

National heritage


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Economy overview: British South American territorial economy; longstanding fishing industry; surging tourism prior to COVID-19 and Brexit; recent offshore hydrocarbon discoveries threaten ecotourism industries; no central bank and must have British approval on currency shifts

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: 41% (2015 est.)
Industry: 20.6% (2015 est.)
Services: 38.4% (2015 est.)

Agriculture products: fodder and vegetable crops; venison, sheep, dairy products; fish, squid

Industries: fish and wool processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: 1,850 (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate: 1% (2016 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 36 (2015)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $67.1 million (FY09/10)
Expenditures: $75.3 million (FY09/10)
Surplus  or deficit: -4% (of GDP) (FY09/10)

Taxes and other revenues: 32.5% (of GDP) (FY09/10)

Public debt: 0% of GDP (2015 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.4% (2014 est.)

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:
Partners: Spain 78%, United States 6% (2019)
Commodities: mollusks, fish, wool, sheep and goat meats, aircraft parts (2021)

Imports: $90 million (2004 est.)
Partners: United Kingdom 79%, Netherlands 16% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, spark-ignition engines, stone processing machinery, construction vehicles, cars (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 11,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 19.133 million kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 1 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 66.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 33.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 286 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 46,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 46,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 0 Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 2,000 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 53 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6,000 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 160 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: TV service provided by a multi-channel service provider; radio services provided by the public broadcaster, Falkland Islands Radio Service, broadcasting on both AM and FM frequencies, and by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) (2007)

Internet
Country code: .fk
Users total: 3,762 (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 99% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,000 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces: no regular military forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: VP-F

Airports: 7 (2021)
With paved runways: 2
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 5
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 440 km (2008)
Paved: 50 km (2008)
Unpaved: 390 km (2008)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 2 (2022)
By type: general cargo 1, other 1

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Stanley


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Disputes international: Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UK continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs