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| Map |  |
| Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena |
| Geographic coordinates | Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W
Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 30 W |
| Map references | Africa |
| Area | total: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA
Tristan da Cunha: 40 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Climate | Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid
Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
| Terrain | the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east
Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m |
| Natural resources | fish, lobster |
| Land use | arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 87.1% (2005) |
| Irrigated land | NA |
| Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 |
| Environment - current issues | NA |
| Geography - note | Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa |
| Population | 7,502
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2006 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 717/female 692)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593)
65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 est.) |
| Median age | total: 36 years
male: 36.2 years
female: 35.8 years (2006 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.56% (2006 est.) |
| Birth rate | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.93 years
male: 75.02 years
female: 80.98 years (2006 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA |
| Nationality | noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian
note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
| Ethnic groups | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
| Religions | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
| Languages | English |
| Literacy | definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 97%
female: 98% (1987 est.) |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK |
| Government type | NA |
| Capital | name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
| Constitution | 1 January 1989 |
| Legal system | British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes |
| Suffrage | NA years of age |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12 |
| Judicial branch | Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Political parties and leaders | none |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none |
| International organization participation | ICFTU, UPU |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
| Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $18 million (1998 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $2,500 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
| Labor force | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48%
services: 46% (1987 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha) |
| Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% |
| Electricity - production | 5 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - consumption | 4.65 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Oil - production | 0 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Oil - consumption | 100 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Oil - exports | NA bbl/day |
| Oil - imports | NA bbl/day |
| Natural gas - production | 0 cu m (2003 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption | 0 cu m (2003 est.) |
| Exports | $19 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
| Exports - partners | Tanzania 37.6%, US 17.3%, Japan 15.1%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.4% (2005) |
| Imports | $45 million c.i.f. (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
| Imports - partners | UK 54.2%, South Africa 14.5%, Spain 10.5%, Tanzania 8.6%, US 4.7% (2005) |
| Debt - external | $NA |
| Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
| Currency (code) | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
| Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2,200 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA |
| Telephone system | general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network
international: country code - 290; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1) |
| Radio broadcast stations | Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 0
note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by UHF (2005) |
| Internet country code | .sh; note - the IANA has assigned .ac as the ccTLD for Ascension Island |
| Internet users | 1,000 note - includes Ascension Island (2003) |
| Communications - note | South Africa maintains a meteorological station on Gough Island |
| Airports | 1
note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
| Roadways | total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km)
unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2002) |
| Ports and terminals | Saint Helena: Jamestown
Ascension Island: Georgetown
Tristan da Cunha: Calshot Harbor |
| Transportation - note | there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Disputes - international | none |