Home

Falkland Islands Background Information

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.

Falkland Islands Quickstats

  • Population: 3,105 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 12,173 sq km
  • Density: 0.25 /km² (229th)
  • GDP (total): $75 million (223th)
  • GDP (per capita): $25,000 (2002 estimate) (not ranked)
  • Literacy:

Languages of Falkland Islands

Useful to know

  • Currency: Falkland pound¹ (FKP)
  • Dial code: +500

International Trade

External sites

More Resources

Recent blog posts