Falkland Islanders

Falkland Islanders, also called Falklanders[3] and nicknamed Kelpers, are the people of the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islanders

Two Falkland Islanders in 2003
Total population
3,398 (2016)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Falkland Islands
Languages
English (see Falkland Islands English)
Religion
Christianity (Protestantism (Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Seventh-day Adventist Church), Roman Catholicism, Jehovah's Witnesses) Bahá'í minority[2]

Identity

See also: Origins of Falkland Islanders and British people

The Islanders are British, albeit with a distinct identity of their own:

British cultural, economic, social, political and educational values create a unique British-like, Falkland Islands. Yet Islanders feel distinctly different from their fellow citizens who reside in the United Kingdom. This might have something to do with geographical isolation or with living on a smaller island – perhaps akin to those British people not feeling European. (Lewis Clifton OBE, Speaker of the Falklands Legislative Council)[4]

They also see themselves as no different from other immigrant nations including those of neighbouring South America:

We are as much a people as those in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile and many other South American countries whose inhabitants are of principally European, Indigenous or African descent. (Councillor Mike Summers OBE)[5]

Kelpers is a nickname given to Falkland Islanders because the islands are surrounded by large seaweeds called kelp.[6][7]

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Population pyramid 2006
%	Males	Age	Females	%
0.85		85+		0.91
0.61		80–84		1.02
1.22		75–79		1.08
1.93		70–74		1.39
2.94		65–69		2.06
3.82		60–64		2.74
4.16		55–59		3.11
4.33		50–54		4.09
5.28		45–49		3.55
5.58		40–44		4.26
4.43		35–39		4.57
4.26		30–34		3.59
3.01		25–29		3.99
3.05		20–24		2.20
2.40		15–19		2.81
2.54		10–14		2.91
2.67		5–9		2.61
n/d		0–4		n/d

Date	Method	Total Population	Male	Female	Ratio
2000	Treasury of the Falkland Islands Govt estimate[8]	2,826
2006	2006 Census[9]	2,955	1,569	1,386	1.13:1
2007	CIA estimate[10]	3,105
2012	2012 Census[11]	2,931	1,491	1,349	1.11:1
2016	2016 Census[12]	3,398	1,687	1,511

Nationality

With retrospective effect from 1 January 1983, as provided in the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, the Falkland Islanders have been full British citizens.

Ethnic groups

About 70 percent are of British descent, primarily as a result of Scottish and Welsh immigration to the islands.[13] The native-born inhabitants call themselves "Islanders"; the term "Kelpers", from the kelp which grows profusely around the islands, is still used in the Islands. People from the United Kingdom who have obtained Falkland Island status are known locally as 'belongers'.

A few Islanders are of French, Gibraltarian, Portuguese and Scandinavian descent. Some are the descendants of whalers who reached the Islands during the last two centuries. There is also a small minority of South American, mainly Chilean origin, and in more recent times many people from Saint Helena have also come to work and live in the Islands.[14]

Religions

Main article: Religion in the Falkland Islands

The most predominant religion is Christianity, of which the primary denominations are Church of England, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, and Lutheran. Smaller numbers are Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and Greek Orthodox; with the latter being due to Greek fishermen passing through. There is also a Bahá'í congregation.[15] The islands are the home of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands.

Languages

The official language of the islands is English.[16] The Falklands English vernacular has a fair amount of borrowed Spanish words (often modified or corrupted); they are particularly numerous, indeed dominant in the local horse-related terminology. For instance, the Islanders use ‘alizan’, ‘colorao’, ‘negro’, ‘blanco’, ‘gotiao’, ‘picasso’, ‘sarco’, ‘rabincana’ etc. for certain horse colours and looks, or ‘bosal’, ‘cabresta’, ‘bastos’, ‘cinch’, ‘conjinilla’, ‘meletas’, ‘tientas’, ‘manares’ etc. for various items of horse gear.[17]

Sport

Main article: Sport in the Falkland Islands

There are more than 30 different sports clubs on the Falklands, including badminton, clay-pigeon shooting, cricket, football, golf, hockey, netball, rugby union, sailing, swimming, table tennis and volleyball.[18] The Falklands compete in the Commonwealth Games and in the biennial Island Games.[19] Louis Baillon is the only Falkland Islander to have become an Olympic champion, as a member of the British field hockey team which won a gold medal in 1908.

References

1. "Falkland Islands 2016 Census" (PDF). 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
2. The Baha’i faith has a small local following.
3. Chater, Tony. The Falklands. St. Albans: The Penna Press, 1996. p. 137. ISBN 0-9504113-1-0
4. Clifton, Lewis. The Falkland Islands: Self-government with an emerging national identity? News and Journal 2004, The 21st Century Trust. London, 1999. pp. 16-19.
5. Summers, Mike. Self-Determination In The Falkland Islands. In: L. Ivanov et al. The Future of the Falkland Islands and Its People. Sofia: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2003. 96 pp. ISBN 954-91503-1-3
6. allwords.com definition for "Kelper"
7. dictionary.com definition for "Kelper"
8. 10Th, Ed 2002 (2001). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. ISBN 9781857431216.
9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-03-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fk.html
11. "2012 census" (PDF). falklands.gov.fk. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-03-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. Vincent, Patrick (March 1983). The Geographical Journal, Vol. 149, No. 1, pp 16–17.
14. "UK | Falklands questions answered". BBC News. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
15. "Falkland Islands Bahá'í Community Newsletter". Horizon.co.fk. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
16. "CIA - The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
17. Spruce, Joan. Corrals and Gauchos: Some of the people and places involved in the cattle industry. Falklands Conservation Publication. Bangor: Peregrine Publishing, 1992. 48 pp.
18. Falklands Information website clubs page Archived 2011-02-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
19. Island Games website membership page. Retrieved 9 July 2008.