French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Capital, major cities, population, maps, climate, landscapes and landmarks of French Southern and Antarctic Lands, in Antarctica.
Port aux Français: Daniel Delille, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Overview
French Southern and Antarctic Lands is a country or area in Antarctic. It covers about 7,747 km² (2,991 sq mi), the 172nd largest of the 250 countries and areas in our atlas, and is home to roughly 140 people (244th by population). That works out to about 0 people per km².
French Southern and Antarctic Lands has no land borders: it is surrounded by water. The highest point is Mont Ross at 1,850 m (6,070 ft).
The capital is Port-aux-Français. The largest city in our atlas is Port-aux-Français, with about 45 people in the city proper. The official language is French. Clocks run on UTC+05:00.
Where is French Southern and Antarctic Lands?
Highlighted shape and city dots (red = capital, green = major cities). Map data: Natural Earth (public domain); shapes are simplified and do not represent any position on boundaries.
Major cities
| City | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Port-aux-Français (capital) | Kerguelen | 45 |
City-proper populations from GeoNames; metropolitan areas are often much larger.
Climate
Port-aux-Français has a tundra climate (Köppen ET). The warmest month is usually Feb, with average highs near 8°C (47°F); the coolest nights come in Jul at about -1°C (30°F). Around 697 mm (27 in) of rain and snow falls in a typical year, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Bars: average daily high and low (°C) for each month; blue columns and figures: average precipitation (mm). Gridded 2001-2025 averages from NASA POWER, so mountain and coastal spots can differ from local station records.
Fun geography facts
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands is the 172nd largest country or area by land and water area in our atlas.
- About 32% of the population lives in Port-aux-Français alone.
- It lies in the Southern Hemisphere, so summer falls in December, January and February.
- Port-aux-Français gets about 697 mm of precipitation a year (tundra climate).
- It is one of the most sparsely populated places on Earth, with lots of open land per person.
More in Antarctic
- Country names, codes, languages, currencies, area: mledoze/countries (ODbL), the dataset behind REST Countries
- Population: World Bank (CC BY 4.0), else GeoNames
- Cities, time zones, elevations: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
- Geography and landmarks: Wikidata Q129003 (CC0)
- Climate: NASA POWER 2001-2025 climatology
- Map: Natural Earth (public domain)
Text written by Geographical Effect from these sources. Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.
- Port aux Français: Daniel Delille, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)