South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 -- except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th- and early 20th-century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, which was stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK extended the exclusive fishing zone in 1993, from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.

Land

3,903 sq km

Note

<strong>note:</strong> includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of 11 islands

Total

3,903 sq km

Water

0 sq km

slightly larger than Rhode Island

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

NA

North America

Highest point

Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m

Lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

54 30 S, 37 00 W

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

0 sq km (2022)

border countries

MAF

number of neighbors

1

Total

0 km

forest

10.88%

Other

100% (2018 est.)

No

Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America

Google Maps

https://goo.gl/maps/DjvcESy1a1oGEZuNA

OpenStreetMap

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/1231790

Antarctic Region

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Territorial sea

12 nm

the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism

fish

Caribbean

most of the islands are rugged and mountainous rising steeply from the sea; South Georgia is largely barren with steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes

UTC-04:00

number of time zones

1

0-14 years

15.14%

15-64 years

70.92%

65 years and over

13.94%

9 births/1,000 population

8 deaths/1,000 population

adult female

62 per 1,000

adult male

111 per 1,000

elderly dependency ratio

19.66%

total dependency ratio

41%

youth dependency ratio

21.34%

4 % of GDP

languages

English, French, Dutch

number of languages

3

female

80 years

male

74 years

total population

76 years

17 births/1,000 women 15-19

adjective

St. Maartener

noun

St. Maartener

530 migrants

Total

no permanent inhabitants

1.4%

1 children born/woman

urban population

100%

geographic coordinates

18.02, -63.03

name

Philipsburg

Abbreviation

SGSSI

alternative spellings

SX, Sint Maarten (Dutch part)

Conventional long form

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Conventional short form

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

Etymology

Captain James COOK originally named it "the Isle of Georgia" in 1775 in honor of British King GEORGE III; the word "South" was later added to distinguish these islands from the other Sandwich Islands, now known as the Hawaiian Islands

local long form (eng)

Sint Maarten

overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing the British monarch

none (administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina)

none (administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina)

<strong>description:</strong> blue with the UK flag in the upper-left quadrant; the islands' coat of arms is centered on the right half of the flag and has a green shield with a golden lion holding a torch; a fur seal is to the left of the shield and a Macaroni penguin to the right; a reindeer appears above the crest, and below the shield on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land)<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the lion represents the UK and discovery; the seal, penguin, and reindeer are native to the islands

The flag of Sint Maarten features two equal horizontal bands of red and blue, with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side. The center of the triangle displays the national coat of arms with an orange-bordered blue shield that prominently displays a white courthouse, as well as yellow sage in the upper left and the silhouette of a monument in the upper right. Over the shield is a yellow rising sun and a brown pelican in flight. A yellow scroll below the shield has the Latin motto "SEMPER PROGREDIENS" (Always Progressing).

svg

https://flagcdn.com/sx.svg

No

UPU

the laws of the UK apply

Monday

No

code

ANG

name

Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) [ƒ]

$-116,692,860

net inflows

$37.11 million

industry

6.03%

services

89.34%

$1.8 billion

$41,473

$1.74 billion

$38,950

$2.33 billion

3%

$53,769

$48.42 million

fossil fuels

100%

hydroelectric

0%

nuclear

0%

renewable

0%

0%

.sx

+1721

subscriptions per 100

205 per 100

total subscriptions

86,542 subscriptions

Right

1 (2025)

Key ports

Grytviken, Prince Olav Harbor, Stromness Harbor

Large

0

Medium

0

Ports with oil terminals

1

Small

0

Total ports

3 (2024)

Very small

3

SX

defense is the responsibility of the UK

damage to native wildlife from imported animals

5 % of total land area

0 % of total