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national holiday:
liberation day. 14 june (1982) constitution: 3 october 1985; amended 1997 and 1998 legal system: english common law suffrage: 18 years of age; universal executive branch: chief of state: queen elizabeth ii (since 6 february 1952) head of government: governor howard pearce (since 3 december 2002); chief executive chris simpkins (since na march 2003); financial secretary derek f. howatt (since na) cabinet: executive council; three members elected by the legislative council. two ex officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary). and the governor elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch legislative branch: unicameral legislative council (10 seats - 2 ex officio. 8 elected by popular vote. members serve four-year terms); presided over by the governor elections: last held 22 november 2001 (next to be held november 2005) election results: percent of vote - na%; seats - independents 8; note - 71% voter turnout judicial branch: supreme court (chief justice is a nonresident); magistrates court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions); court of summary jurisdiction political parties and leaders: none; all independents political pressure groups and leaders: none international organization participation: icftu. upu diplomatic representation in the us: none (overseas territory of the uk; also claimed by argentina) diplomatic representation from the us: none (overseas territory of the uk; also claimed by argentina) flag description: blue with the flag of the uk in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the falkland island coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising was once the major economic activity) above the sailing ship desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto desire the right economy - overview: the economy was formerly based on agriculture. mainly sheep farming. but today fishing contributes the bulk of economic activity. in 1987 the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the falklands exclusive fishing zone. these license fees total more than $40 million per year. which goes to support the island's health. education. and welfare system. squid accounts for 75% of the fish taken. dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the uk and the sale of postage stamps and coins. the islands are now self-financing except for defense. the british geological survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993. and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500.000 barrels per day; to date no exploitable site has been identified. an agreement between argentina and the uk in 1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves. tourism. especially eco-tourism. is increasing rapidly. with about 30.000 visitors in 2001. another large source of income is interest paid on money the government has in the bank. the british military presence also provides a sizeable economic boost. gdp (purchasing power parity): $75 million (2002 est.) gdp (official exchange rate): na gdp - real growth rate: na% gdp - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25.000 (2002 est.) gdp - composition by sector: agriculture: na% industry: na% services: na% labor force: 1.100 (est.) labor force - by occupation: agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding and fishing) unemployment rate: full employment; labor shortage (2001) population below poverty line: na household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: na% highest 10%: na% inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1998) budget: revenues: $66.2 million expenditures: $67.9 million. including capital expenditures of $23.2 million (fy98/99 est.) agriculture - products: fodder and vegetable crops; sheep. dairy products industries: fish and wool processing; tourism industrial production growth rate: na% electricity - production: 22.23 million kwh (2003) electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) electricity - consumption: 20.68 million kwh (2003) electricity - exports: 0 kwh (2003) electricity - imports: 0 kwh (2003) oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2003 est.) oil - consumption: 200 bbl/day (2003 est.) oil - exports: na (2001) oil - imports: na (2001) exports: $125 million (2004 est.) exports - partners: spain 77.4%. uk 9.4%. us 4.9% (2004) imports: $90 million (2004 est.) imports - partners: uk 63.2%. spain 30.3%. france 3.6% (2004) debt - external: $na economic aid - recipient: $0 (1997 est.) currency (code): falkland pound (fkp) currency code: fkp exchange rates: falkland pounds per us dollar - 0.54 (2005). 0.5462 (2004). 0.6125 (2003). 0.6672 (2002). 0.6947 (2001) note: the falkland pound is at par with the british pound fiscal year: 1 april - 31 march telephones - main lines in use: 2.400 (2002) telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (2001) telephone system: general assessment: na domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private vhf/cb radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: country code - 500; satellite earth station - 1 intelsat (atlantic ocean) with links through london to other countries radio broadcast stations: am 1. fm 7. shortwave 0 (1998) radios: 1.000 (1997) television broadcast stations: 2 (operated by the british forces broadcasting service) note: cable television is available in stanley (2002) televisions: 1.000 (1997) internet country code: .fk internet service providers (isps): 2 (2000) internet users: na; however one-half of all households are reported to have internet access (2002) airports: 5 (2004 est.) airports - with paved runways: total: 2 2.438 to 3.047 m: 1 914 to 1.523 m: 1 (2005 est.) airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2005 est.) roadways: total: 440 km paved: 50 km unpaved: 390 km (2003) merchant marine: none ports and terminals: stanley military branches: no regular military forces military expenditures - dollar figure: na military expenditures - percent of gdp: na military - note: defense is the responsibility of the uk disputes - international: argentina. which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied the islands by force in 1982. agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; uk continues to reject argentine requests for sovereignty talks
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