Demographics of Antarctica
Antarctica has few permanent residents, and contains research stations and field camps that are staffed seasonally or year-round, and former whaling settlements. The largest station, McMurdo Station, has a summer population of about 1,000 people and a winter population of about 200. Approximately 29 nations, all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, send personnel to perform seasonal (summer) or year-round research on the continent and in its surrounding oceans.
A. B. Dobrowolski Polar Station
The research station was built by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1956 and named "Oazis" (Оазис, ). The station was handed over by the Soviet Academy of Sciences to the Polish Academy of Sciences in January 1959. It was manned briefly by the Polish expedition, which carried out a number of studies, primarily in the fields of gravimetry and geomorphology. The station has not been used regularly since, due to the lack of funds and the high costs of air transport, and there are no plans to reopen the station as a permanent institution. The station has been visited periodically by Polish and other research teams. The last Polish team was reported to have visited the station in the 1960s or 1970s (sources vary). A 1998 Polish statistical yearbook described the base as "periodically active". Official classification of the station is "inactive". The station is only occasionally visited by tourists, such as those who documented their visit in 2010.