Background: The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen and two volcanic islands Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of 'Adelie Land' a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.

Area
Total: 7,781 km²
Land: 7,781 km²
Comparative: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen only
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Antarctic

Terrain: Volcanic

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mont Ross on Kerguelen 1,850 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 0%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 km²

Population: No indigenous inhabitants; note_there are researchers whose numbers vary from 145 in winter (July) to 200 in summer (January)

Environment
Current issues: NA
Current issues Natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes
International agreements: NA
International agreements note: Remote location in the southern Indian Ocean

Country name
Conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises
Local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises

Government type: Overseas territory of France since 1955; governed by High Administrator Christian DORS (since 4 December 1991)

Capital: None; administered from Paris, France

Administrative divisions: None (overseas territory of France; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Terre Adelie" claim in Antarctica

Independence: None (overseas territory of France)

Flag description: The flag of France is used

Economy overview: Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Réunion.

Budget
Revenues: $22.6 million (1995), $17.5 million (1992)
Expenditures: NA (1995)

Telephone system: NA telephones
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: NA

Merchant marine
Total: 66 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,133,942 GRT/3,617,863 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 7, container 10, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, specialized tanker 1
Note: A subset of the French register allowing French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissable under the main French register Airports:None