Airports [time series]

total: 5 usable: 5 with permanent-surface runways: 2 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 0

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

NA

Ports [time series]

Grytviken on South Georgia

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

coastal radio station at Grytviken; no broadcast stations

Note [time series]

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Budget [time series]

revenues $291,777; expenditures $451,011, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)

Electricity [time series]

900 kW capacity; 2 million kWh produced, NA kWh per capita (1992)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK.

Area [time series]

total area: 4,066 km2 land area: 4,066 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island note: includes Shag Rocks, Clerke Rocks, Bird Island

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

NA km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina

Irrigated land [time series]

0 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

0 km

Land use [time series]

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

Location [time series]

in the South Atlantic Ocean, off the south Argentine coast, southeast of the Falkland Islands

Map references [time series]

Antarctic Region

Maritime claims [time series]

territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

fish

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Administrative divisions [time series]

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Capital [time series]

none; Grytviken on South Georgia is the garrison town

Constitution [time series]

3 October 1985

Digraph [time series]

SX

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, commissioner

Independence [time series]

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

none

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Commissioner David Everard TATHAM (since August 1992; resident at Stanley, Falkland Islands)

Legal system [time series]

English common law

Legislative branch [time series]

none

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none

National holiday [time series]

Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Government type (Type) [time series]

dependent territory of the UK

Population [time series]

no indigenous 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

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands