blishing 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.

Geography Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

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

Geographic coordinates:
51 45 S, 59 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 12,173 sq km
note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and
about 200 small islands
water: 0 sq km
land: 12,173 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
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 24 inches
in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and
February, but does not accumulate

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Usborne 705 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (99% permanent pastures, 1% other) (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
strong winds persist throughout the year

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

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

People Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Population:
2,967 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.44% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: NA
male: NA
female: NA (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: NA years