Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

overfishing by unlicensed vessels is a problem; reindeer - introduced to the islands in 2001 from South Georgia - are part of a farming effort to produce specialty meat and diversify the islands' economy; this is the only commercial reindeer herd in the world unaffected by the 1986 Chornobyl disaster; grazing threatens important habitats including tussac grass and its ecosystem with penguins and sea lions; soil erosion from fires

Climate

cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; average annual rainfall is 60 cm in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but typically does not accumulate

Land use

agricultural land: 92.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 92.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 0% (2018 est.)

other: 7.6% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 79.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.53% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

NOTE: The information regarding Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.