Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (2003) | World (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) | 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2003 est.) note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure |
Agriculture - products | fodder and vegetable crops; sheep, dairy products | - |
Airports | 5 (2002) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
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Area | total: 12,173 sq km
land: 12,173 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands |
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
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 Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 20.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $66.2 million
expenditures: $67.9 million, including capital expenditures of $23.2 million (FY98/99 est.) |
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Capital | Stanley | - |
Climate | cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; average annual rainfall is 24 inches in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
Coastline | 1,288 km | 356,000 km |
Constitution | 3 October 1985; amended 1997 and 1998 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
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Currency | Falkland pound (FKP) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) | - |
Disputes - international | claimed by Argentina whose forces briefly occupied it in 1982, but now declares it will no longer seek settlement by force | Globally, there are over 250,000 km of international land boundaries that separate the world's 192 independent states, along with 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities. Maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for their national security at sea. On land, ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries. All of these factors have contributed to a wide array of boundary, borderland, and territorial disagreements that vary in intensity from unresolved or dormant to outright war. Territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural animosities, or they may be brought on by resource competition. Ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for territorial fragmentation around the world. Undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and political confrontation over boundary allocations. Other sources of contention include the use of water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, dams, and nuclear power plants. Many islands or island groups are also disputed, including those at sea and in streams. Nonetheless, many nations are actively cooperating to clarify, delineate, and demarcate their international borders. The tragic aspect of international discord is the impact on the sustenance and welfare of populations caught in the conflict. It is frequently left to members of the world community to cope with enormous refugee situations, and the resultant hunger, disease, and impoverishment that they create. |
Economic aid - recipient | none | official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion |
Economy - overview | The economy was formerly based on agriculture, mainly sheep farming, but today fishing contributes the bulk of economic activity. In 1987 the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40 million per year, which goes to support the island's health, education, and welfare system. Squid accounts for 75% of the fish taken. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. The islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day; to date no exploitable site has been identified. An agreement between Argentina and the UK in 1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves. Tourism, especially eco-tourism, is increasing rapidly, with about 30,000 visitors in 2001. Another large source of income is interest paid on money the government has in the bank. The British military presence also provides a sizeable economic boost. | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001 and 2.7% in 2002. The causes: sluggishness in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (19% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.2% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second-largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 8% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 4% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2002, see the individual country entries.) |
Electricity - consumption | 15.19 million kWh (2001) | 13.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 16.33 million kWh (2001) | 14.85 trillion kWh (2001 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Usborne 705 m |
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
Environment - current issues | overfishing by unlicensed vessels is a problem; reindeer were introduced to the islands in 2001 for commercial reasons; this is the only commercial reindeer herd in the world unaffected by the Chornobyl disaster | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
Ethnic groups | British | - |
Exchange rates | Falkland pounds per US dollar - 0.67 (2002), 0.69 (2001), 0.66 (2000), 0.62 (1999), 0.6 (1998); note - the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor Howard PEARCE (since 3 December 2002); Chief Executive Chris SIMPKINS (since NA March 2003); Financial Secretary Derek F. HOWATT (since NA) cabinet: Executive Council; three members elected by the Legislative Council, two ex officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary), and the governor elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch |
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Exports | NA (2001) | 703.9 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | wool, hides, meat | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | Spain 76.2%, UK 9.2%, US 7.1% (2002) | US 17.4%, Germany 7.6%, UK 5.4%, France 5.1%, Japan 4.8%, China 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
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 is 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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $75 million (2002 est.) | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $49 trillion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32% services: 64% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 45 S, 59 00 W | - |
Geography - note | deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season | the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe |
Highways | total: 440 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 390 km (2002) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 205,450 hectares - almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2002 is estimated at 938 metric tons (or 1,200 metric tons of export quality cocaine at an average of 78% purity); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, and 292 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2002; consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 875 metric tons
opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 141,213 hectares in 2002 and potentially produced 2,183 metric tons of opium - which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 238 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the annual average for opiates seized worldwide over the past five years (1998-2002) has been 45 metric tons of pure heroin equivalent; estimates for average annual consumption over this time period are 315 metric tons pure heroin equivalent |
Imports | NA (2001) | 697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | fuel, food and drink, building materials, clothing | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | UK 57.9%, Spain 19.8%, Italy 16.7% (2002) | US 11.2%, Germany 9.2%, China 7%, Japan 6.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2002 est.) |
Industries | fish and wool processing; tourism | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
total: 51.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (1998) | developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries |
International organization participation | ICFTU | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 10,350 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is a nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions); Court of Summary Jurisdiction | - |
Labor force | 1,100 (est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding and fishing) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (99% permanent pastures, 1% other) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.58%
permanent crops: 1% other: 88.42% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
Legal system | English common law | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (10 seats - 2 ex officio, 8 elected by popular vote, members serve four-year terms); presided over by the governor
elections: last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 8; note - 71% voter turnout |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 63.95 years
male: 62 years female: 70.23 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77% male: 83% female: 71% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina | - |
Map references | South America | Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | British Forces Falkland Islands no regular indigenous military forces; (includes Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy), Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | - |
Nationality | noun: Falkland Islander(s)
adjective: Falkland Island |
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Natural hazards | strong winds persist throughout the year | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | fish, squid, wildlife, calcified seaweed, sphagnum moss | the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | - |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 2,967 (July 2003 est.) | 6,302,309,691 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 2.44% (2003 est.) | 1.17% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Stanley
note: the primary port is located in Stanley Harbour and known locally as FIPASS (Falkland Interim Port and Storage System); the facility consists of seven permanently moored barges providing 300 meters of berthing space; it was installed by the military after 1982 and handed over to the Falkland Islands Government in 1988 |
Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,122,650 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
Religions | primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist | Christians 32.79% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.51%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.6%, Hindus 13.31%, Buddhists 5.88%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.83%, non-religious 12.53%, atheists 2.44% (2001 est.) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) with links through London to other countries |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (operated by the British Forces Broadcasting Service)
note: cable television is available in Stanley (2002) |
NA |
Terrain | rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | full employment; labor shortage | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment |
Waterways | none | - |