Falkland Islands profile

The population (3,662 inhabitants in 2021) consists of around 40% native-born Falkland Islanders, with the rest of the population being immigrants, primarily from the United Kingdom, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, Chile, and the Philippines. At various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. The islands are believed to have been uninhabited prior to European discovery in the 17th century. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands.

Falkland Inseln – Südgeorgien – Elephant Island – Antarktis – Polarkreis

The islands’ cool and windy climate offers few temperature extremes and only minor seasonal variability. The two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and about 200 smaller islands form a total land area nearly as extensive as the U.S. state of Connecticut. (2012, excluding British military personnel stationed on the islands) 2,563. In South America the islands are generally known as Islas Malvinas, because early French settlers had named them Malouines, or Malovines, in 1764, after their home port of Saint-Malo, France.

BBC News Services

  • British force expels remaining Argentine officials from the island and installs a governor.
  • Dr Clausen is the first woman and the first Falkland Islander to become Chief Executive of the Government.The UK minister responsible for the Falkland Islands since 2024, Stephen Doughty, administers British foreign policy regarding the islands.
  • Landmine clearance work restarted in 2009, in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the Ottawa Treaty, and Sapper Hill Corral was cleared of mines in 2012, allowing access to an important historical landmark for the first time in 30 years.

Substantive sovereignty talks again ended by 1981, and the dispute escalated with passing time. Nonetheless, Falklander dissent, as expressed by their chicken road games strong lobby in the UK Parliament, and tensions between the UK and Argentina effectively limited sovereignty negotiations until 1977. An agreement on trade ties between the archipelago and the mainland was reached in 1971 and, consequently, Argentina built a temporary airfield at Stanley in 1972.

Four years later, nearly everyone relocated to Port Jackson, considered a better location for the government, and merchant Samuel Lafone began a venture to encourage British colonisation. Spain’s Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata became the only formal presence in the territory. The British and Spanish settlements coexisted in the archipelago until 1774, when Britain’s new economic and strategic considerations led it to withdraw the garrison from the islands, leaving a plaque claiming the Falklands for King George III. Although Fuegians from Patagonia may have visited the Falkland Islands in prehistoric times, the islands were uninhabited when Europeans first explored them. In Spanish, the territory was designated as Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands).

Die Falklandinseln (Islas Malvinas)

The islands’ sheep stations (ranches) vary in size and may be owned by individual families or by companies based in Britain. Almost the whole area of the two main islands, outside of Stanley, is devoted to sheep farming. The port settlement of Stanley has regained the islands’ economic focus, with an increase in population as workers migrate from Camp. The islands’ major exports include wool, hides, venison, fish and squid; its main imports include fuel, building materials and clothing.

  • The war also left some 117 minefields containing nearly 20,000 mines of various types, including anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines.
  • After the war the UK expanded its military presence, building RAF Mount Pleasant and increasing the size of its garrison.
  • Oil exploration, licensed by the Falkland Islands Government, remains controversial as a result of maritime disputes with Argentina.
  • Endemic land animals have been the most affected by introduced species, and several bird species have been extirpated from the larger islands.
  • Several hundred thousand sheep are kept on the islands, producing several thousand tons of wool annually as well as some mutton.

An international airport is located at the Mount Pleasant Military Complex. In the late 20th century the government instituted policies to encourage an increase in the number of smaller, locally operated farms rather than corporate-owned farms. The wool is sold in Great Britain and is the Falklands’ leading land-based export. The population of the Falkland Islands is English-speaking and consists primarily of Falklanders of British descent. Dolphins and porpoises are common, and southern sea lions and elephant seals are also numerous.

The islands’ only native terrestrial mammal, the warrah, was hunted to extinction by European settlers. The archipelago’s two main islands are separated by the Falkland Sound, and its deep coastal indentations form natural harbours. The islands are predominantly mountainous and hilly, with the major exception being the depressed plains of Lafonia (a peninsula forming the southern part of East Falkland). The archipelago consists of two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. Though asserting “We will not relinquish our sovereignty” over the islands, Milei said they would not “seek conflict with the United Kingdom” over them, preferring to resolve the dispute “within the framework of peace.” The islands’ judicial system, overseen by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is largely based on English law, and the constitution binds the territory to the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Tierwelt der Falklandinseln

The islands are self-governing, although foreign affairs and defence matters are handled by the British government. It has also based its claim on the islands’ proximity to the South American mainland. With two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and over 700 smaller islands, the archipelago is a haven for adventurers and nature enthusiasts alike. The islands’ British heritage is apparent in Stanley, where pubs, bright red mailboxes, and well-kept gardens are numerous.

In 2009, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, had a meeting with the Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and said that there would be no further talks over the sovereignty of the Falklands. The UK bases its position on its continuous administration of the islands since 1833 and the islanders’ “right to self-determination as set out in the UN Charter”. As a territory of the United Kingdom, the Falklands were part of the overseas countries and territories of the European Union until 2020. All politicians in the Falkland Islands are independent; no political parties exist on the islands.

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Around 30% of the population are temporary residents, on short-term work visas or working at the RAF Mount Pleasant military base. The territory’s sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the UK. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, but Argentina maintains its claim to the islands. Over 900 Argentinian and British service personnel are killed, as well as three islanders, during the 10-week war.

The government began selling fishing licenses to foreigners in 1987, and the revenue generated from such sales became a major contributor to the economy. Attempts were also undertaken at that time to diversify the islands’ economy. The Falkland Islands Company, incorporated in 1852 and granted a Royal Charter in 1851, played a notable part in the economic development of the islands and was for many years the single largest sheep rancher there.

Falkland-Inseln – Südgeorgien – Antarktische Halbinsel

The capital and major town is Stanley, on East Falkland; there are also several scattered small settlements as well as a Royal Air Force base that is located at Mount Pleasant, some 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Stanley. It lies about 300 miles (480 km) northeast of the southern tip of South America and a similar distance east of the Strait of Magellan. In recent years, the islands’ population decline has reduced, thanks to immigrants from the United Kingdom, Saint Helena, and Chile. The Falkland Islands population is homogeneous, mostly descended from Scottish and Welsh immigrants who settled in the territory after 1833. Despite COVID-19 pandemic restrictions causing suspensions of flights from Santiago and São Paulo and prohibited cruise ship tourism, the economy of the islands remained stable and healthy. The main international airport, located at RAF Mount Pleasant on East Falkland, provides flights to RAF Brize Norton in the UK and mainland South America.

Under the 2009 Constitution, the islands have full internal self-government; the UK is responsible for foreign affairs, retaining the power “to protect UK interests and to ensure the overall good governance of the territory”. Concerned at the expense of maintaining the Falkland Islands in an era of budget cuts, the UK again considered transferring sovereignty to Argentina in the early Thatcher government. Vernet’s venture lasted until a dispute related to fishing and hunting rights led to a raid by the American warship USS Lexington in 1831,F when United States Navy commander Silas Duncan declared the dissolution of the island’s government. Amid the British invasions of the Río de la Plata during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, the islands’ governor evacuated the archipelago in 1806; Spain’s remaining colonial garrison followed suit in 1811, except for gauchos and fishermen who remained voluntarily. Major economic activities include fishing, tourism, and sheep farming, with an emphasis on high-quality wool exports. In a 2013 sovereignty referendum, almost all of the votes cast were in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory.

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The Legislative Assembly, a unicameral legislature, consists of the chief executive, the director of finance and eight members (five from Stanley and three from Camp) elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage. Dr Clausen is the first woman and the first Falkland Islander to become Chief Executive of the Government.The UK minister responsible for the Falkland Islands since 2024, Stephen Doughty, administers British foreign policy regarding the islands. Argentina and the UK re-established diplomatic relations in 1990, but neither has agreed on the terms of future sovereignty discussions. Landmine clearance work restarted in 2009, in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the Ottawa Treaty, and Sapper Hill Corral was cleared of mines in 2012, allowing access to an important historical landmark for the first time in 30 years. The war also left some 117 minefields containing nearly 20,000 mines of various types, including anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines. In April 1982 the Falklands War began when Argentine military forces invaded the Falklands and other British territories in the South Atlantic, briefly occupying them until a UK expeditionary force retook the territories in June.

Executive authority is vested in the British crown, and the islands’ government is headed by a governor appointed by the crown. Stanley Harbour is the islands’ main port; it has a commercial wharf and receives cruise ships. Ranges of hills run east-west across the northern parts of the two main islands, reaching 2,312 feet (705 metres) at Mount Usborne in East Falkland. They are home to large bird populations, although many no longer breed on the main islands owing to predation by introduced species. The windswept and almost-treeless territory is made up of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, as well as hundreds of smaller islands and islets. Sporting activities are popular on the islands and include bird-watching, fishing, and horseback riding.

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