2nd April: Malvinas Day (Falkland Islands)

More islands today, as it is Malvinas Day, a holiday in the Falkland Islands. So here are ten things you might not know about the Falkland Islands:

1. The official name for these islands depends which language you speak. In every language apart from Spanish, it's Falkland Islands (Malvinas). In Spanish, it's Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands). So ruled the United Nations. The Spanish name was actually given to the islands by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764. It derives from St. Malo, the port from which his expedition set out. The English name comes from Falkland Sound, the strait separating the archipelago's two main islands, which was coined by John Strong, captain of an English expedition which landed on the islands in 1690. He named it for Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, who'd sponsored his trip. The Viscount's title originates from the town of Falkland, Scotland, and means "land held by folk-right".
2. There are two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. Its area is 4,700 square miles (12,000 square kilometres) and the population was 2,932 inhabitants in 2012. Most of the people are descended from Scottish and Welsh immigrants who settled the territory in 1833.
3. Over 2,000 of those people live in the capital, and only town, Stanley. Stanley was founded in 1843 and is situated on East Falkland.
4. For a time in the 20th century, the population declined as many young people went abroad to find work. A significant number went to England, in particular, Southampton, which was therefore nicknamed "Stanley North".
5. The islands have two weekly newspapers: Teaberry Express and The Penguin News.
6. There are no chain stores on the islands, and no cash machines. There is one bank and seven pubs, which only sell Beer in bottles (no pints).
7. There are 500,000 sheep on the islands, with most of the land used as pasture for them. There is a ram on the island's coat of arms representing the sheep farming industry. Seismic surveys suggest there are substantial oil reserves in the seabed surrounding the Falkland Islands, so the future of the islands' economy may well lie in oil.
8. Falkland Islanders are British citizens, since the islands are a British territory. Hence their currency is the Falkland Islands pound, which is pegged to the British pound sterling. Argentina also lays claim to them and famously invaded them in 1982 - but Britain won them back.
9. The archipelago's highest point is Mount Usborne, at 2,313 feet (705 m). East Falkland.
10. Five different types of Penguin breed on the islands.