French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2002) | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US | - |
Airports | none (2001) | none |
Area | total: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
total:
3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware | slightly larger than Rhode Island |
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. | The islands lie approximately 1,000 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. |
Budget | - | revenues:
$291,777 expenditures: $451,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.) |
Climate | antarctic | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow |
Coastline | 1,232 km | NA km |
Constitution | - | adopted 3 October 1985 |
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 |
conventional long form:
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Francois GARDE (since 24 May 2000), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA) | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by UK civil commissioner Donald A. LAMONT, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is the garrison town |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) |
Disputes - international | "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US | claimed by Argentina |
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 Reunion. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | the flag of the UK is used |
Geographic coordinates | 43 00 S, 67 00 E | 54 30 S, 37 00 W |
Geography - note | islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South Georgia |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 sq km (1993) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Location | south of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land" | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM from Iles Kerguelen only
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,815,472 GRT/4,806,161 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 5, chemical tanker 13, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 11 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 2, France 62, Japan 3, Monaco 1, Norway 5, Sweden 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) |
Natural hazards | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism |
Natural resources | fish, crayfish | fish |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.)
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) |
no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Grytviken |
Radio broadcast stations | - | none |
Telephone system | - | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
Television broadcast stations | - | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic | 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 |
Waterways | none | none |