each military age (18) annually; obligation for service in
Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for service in permanent
force must be 17; national service obligation is two years; figures include
the so-called homelands not recognized by the US

Defense expenditures: 5% of GDP, or $4 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
(dependent territory of the UK)
- Geography
Total area: 4,066 km2; land area: 4,066 km2; includes Shag and
Clerke Rocks

Comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: undetermined

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina

Climate: variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year,
interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow

Terrain: 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

Natural resources: fish

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other; largely covered by permanent ice and snow
with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen

Environment: reindeer, introduced early in this century, live on South
Georgia; weather conditions generally make it difficult to approach the South
Sandwich Islands; the South Sandwich Islands are subject to active volcanism

Note: the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which
provide good anchorage

- People
Population: no permanent population; there is a small military garrison on
South Georgia and the British Antarctic Survey has a biological station on Bird
Island; the South Sandwich islands are uninhabited

- Government
Long-form name: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (no
short-form name)

Type: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Grytviken Harbour on South Georgia is the chief town

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Constitution: 3 October 1985

Legal system: English common law

National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

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