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 With hostilities ended and Argentine forces withdrawn, UK administration resumed.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.
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
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 92.4% (2018 est.)
forest: 0% (2018 est.)
other: 7.6% (2018 est.)
3,662 (2021 est.)
note: data include all persons usually resident in the islands at the time of the 2021 census
noun: Falkland Islander(s)
adjective: Falkland Island
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
English 89%, Spanish 7.7%, other 3.3% (2006 est.)
Christian 57.1%, other 1.6%, none 35.4%, unspecified 6% (2016 est.)
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
total dependency ratio: 39.8
youth dependency ratio: 24.8
elderly dependency ratio: 14.9
potential support ratio: 6.7 (2021)
0.01% (2014 est.)
10.9 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2012 est.)
NA
a very small population, with most residents living in and around Stanley
urban population: 79.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.53% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2,000 STANLEY (capital) (2018)
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
total: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total population: (2017 est.) 77.9
male: 75.6
female: 79.6
NA
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 78.2% of population
total: 95.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 21.8% of population
total: 4.7% of population (2020)
NA
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020)
NA
44.8% (2023 est.)
NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
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
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
agricultural land: 92.4% (2018 est.)
arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 92.4% (2018 est.)
forest: 0% (2018 est.)
other: 7.6% (2018 est.)
urban population: 79.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.53% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
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
$206.4 million (2015 est.)
$164.5 million (2014 est.)
$167.5 million (2013 est.)
25.5% (2015 est.)
-1.8% (2014 est.)
-20.4% (2013 est.)
$70,800 (2015 est.)
$63,000 (2014 est.)
$206.4 million (2015 est.)
1.4% (2014 est.)
agriculture: 41% (2015 est.)
industry: 20.6% (2015 est.)
services: 38.4% (2015 est.)comparison rankings:
fodder and vegetable crops; venison, sheep, dairy products; fish, squid
fish and wool processing; tourism
NA
1,850 (2016 est.)
1% (2016 est.)
NA
36 (2015)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $67.1 million (FY09/10)
expenditures: $75.3 million (FY09/10)
-4% (of GDP) (FY09/10)
0% of GDP (2015 est.)
32.5% (of GDP) (FY09/10)
1 April - 31 March
$257.3 million (2015 est.)
$125 million (2004 est.)
Spain 78%, United States 6% (2019)
mollusks, fish, wool, sheep and goat meats, aircraft parts (2021)
$90 million (2004 est.)
United Kingdom 79%, Netherlands 16% (2019)
refined petroleum, spark-ignition engines, stone processing machinery, construction vehicles, cars (2019)
$0 (2017 est.)
$0 (2016 est.)
Falkland pounds (FKP) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.7836 (2017 est.)
0.6542 (2016 est.)
0.6542 (2015)
0.6542 (2014 est.)
0.6391 (2013 est.)
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.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 66.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 33.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
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.)
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.)
0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
286 bbl/day (2015 est.)
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.)
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.)
0 Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5
VP-F
7 (2021)
2
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.)
5
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
total: 440 km (2008)
paved: 50 km (2008)
unpaved: 390 km (2008)
total: 2 (2022)
by type: general cargo 1, other 1
major seaport(s): Stanley
manyapis