Population

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 settlement to the islands.^[16] 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'.^[17]

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 (5%), and in more recent times many people from Saint Helena (10%) and Philippines (5%) have also come to work and live in the Islands.^[18]

Religions

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.^{[citation needed]} There is also a congregation of the Baháʼí Faith.^[19] The islands are the home of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands.

Languages

The official language of the islands is English.^[20] The Falklands English vernacular has a fair amount of borrowed Spanish words (often modified or corrupted); they are particularly numerous, and 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.^[21]

Knowledge of Spanish as a foreign language is fairly widespread, as it is a compulsory subject in school, being the lingua franca in much of mainland South America. As the schools follow the English education system, European Spanish as prescribed by the Real Academia Española is taught, rather than a South American variety of the language, but Falkland Islanders may use seseo pronunciation typical of South American dialect. There is a small population of Hispanophones in the islands, consisting mostly of Chileans, and the language is also present in some place names.