Since the end of the Falklands War in 1982, the islands’ economic activity increasingly focused on oil field exploration and tourism. Economic development was advanced by ship resupplying and sheep farming for high-quality wool. Based on 2010 data, the islands have a high Human Development Index of 0.874 and a moderate Gini coefficient for income inequality of 34.17. Introduced species include reindeer, hares, rabbits, Patagonian foxes, brown rats, and cats. The Falklands are treeless and have a wind-resistant vegetation predominantly composed of a variety of dwarf shrubs.
Falkland Islands
The main settlements are linked by roads and a government-operated air service, which also provides interisland passenger service. Such efforts have enabled the islands’ economy to enjoy sustained growth since the late 20th century. In 2002 a slaughter facility was built, and the following year sheep and lamb meat began being exported to the United Kingdom.
BBC News Services
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.
Falkland Inseln – Südgeorgien – Elephant Island – Antarktis – Polarkreis
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.
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.
FALKLAND ISLAND: FACTS
Tourists, mostly cruise ship passengers, are attracted by the archipelago’s wildlife and environment, as well as activities such as fishing and wreck diving; the majority find accommodation in Stanley. A little over a quarter of the workforce serves the Falkland Islands government, making it the archipelago’s largest employer. By 2023, oil exploration was still proceeding off the shelf of the islands with a deepwater project led by Rockhopper Exploration. Fear of dependence on fishing licences and threats from overfishing, illegal fishing and fish market price fluctuations led to increased interest in oil drilling as an alternative source of revenue.
Several hundred thousand sheep are kept on the islands, producing several thousand tons of wool annually as well as some mutton. The pattern of living on the islands is sharply differentiated between Stanley and the small, isolated sheep-farming communities. Squid are abundant in the waters surrounding the islands, but overfishing became an issue in the 1990s, and measures were taken to correct the problem. About 65 species of birds, including black-browed albatrosses, Falkland pipits, peregrine falcons, and striated caracaras, are found on the islands. The islands’ vegetation is low and dense in a landscape with no natural tree growth.
Education
- However, in May 2024, newly elected Argentine president Javier Milei, expressed general acceptance and tolerance for British rule, for the time being, noting it could take decades for Argentina to gain control of the islands.
- 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.
- Economic development was advanced by ship resupplying and sheep farming for high-quality wool.
- (2012, excluding British military personnel stationed on the islands) 2,563.
- Simmering tensions between the UK and Argentina increased during the second half of the century, when Argentine President Juan Perón asserted sovereignty over the archipelago.
The sovereignty dispute intensified during the 1960s, shortly after the United Nations passed a resolution on decolonisation which Argentina interpreted as favourable to its position. Simmering tensions between the UK and Argentina increased during the second half of the century, when Argentine President Juan Perón asserted sovereignty over the archipelago. The high cost of importing materials, combined with the shortage of labour and consequent high wages, meant the ship repair trade became uncompetitive. Economic growth began only after the Falkland Islands Company, which bought out Lafone’s failing enterprise in 1851,I successfully introduced Cheviot sheep for wool farming, spurring other farms to follow suit. Early in its history, Stanley had a negative reputation due to cargo-shipping losses; only in emergencies would ships rounding Cape Horn stop at the port. Stanley, as Port Jackson was soon renamed, officially became the seat of government in 1845.
- In 1965, at the 20th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Fourth Committee determined that, in all languages other than Spanish, all UN documentation would designate the territory as Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
- Development projects in education and sports have been funded by the Falklands government, without aid from the United Kingdom.
- The Falkland-born population are also descended from English and French people, Gibraltarians, Scandinavians, and South Americans.
- The Monarch of the United Kingdom is the head of state, and executive authority is exercised on the monarch’s behalf by the governor, who appoints the islands’ chief executive on the advice of members of the Legislative Assembly.
In the first half of the 20th chicken road games century, the Falklands served an important role in Britain’s territorial claims to subantarctic islands and a section of Antarctica. Buenos Aires named Vernet military and civil commander of the islands in 1829, and he attempted to regulate sealing to stop the activities of foreign whalers and sealers. The port, located in the Brittany region of western France, was named after St. Malo (or Maclou), the Christian evangelist who founded the city. Bougainville, who founded the islands’ first settlement, named the area after the port of Saint-Malo (the point of departure for his ships and colonists). The name Falkland Islands comes from Falkland Sound, the strait that separates the two main islands.
Falkland-Inseln – Südgeorgien – Antarktische Halbinsel
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.
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).
Explore the Falkland Islands: Your Gateway to an Unforgettable Destination
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.
There is no party-political activity on the islands. Argentina says it has a right to the islands, which it calls the Malvinas, because it inherited them from the Spanish crown in the early 1800s. Argentine forces, who had landed on the Falklands to stake a territorial claim, were ejected by a British military task force. Each section of the website is crafted to enrich your understanding of the islands, offering both practical tips and engaging narratives. The governor presides over the Executive Council and must consult with it in the discharge of most of his or her duties but may, in certain circumstances, act against the advice of the council.
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.
Economy
Development projects in education and sports have been funded by the Falklands government, without aid from the United Kingdom. Endemic land animals have been the most affected by introduced species, and several bird species have been extirpated from the larger islands. Several of these species have harmed native flora and fauna, so the government has tried to contain, remove or exterminate foxes, rabbits and rats. The islands are frequented by marine mammals, such as the southern elephant seal and the South American fur seal, and various types of cetaceans; offshore islands house the rare striated caracara.
The UK sends a naval taskforce and some 9,000 troops to recapture the islands. US warship destroys Argentine settlement in reprisal for the arrest of three US vessels hunting seals. Independent Argentina proclaims sovereignty over the Falklands. The wreck of the Lady Elizabeth, built in the 1800s, has been a feature of the islands for a century Coverage of local affairs is provided by a radio station and by the territory’s sole newspaper, Penguin News.
