Airports [time series]

1 with permanent-surface runway 2,440-3,659 m on Ascension

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

87 km bitumen-sealed roads, 20 km earth roads on Saint Helena; 80 km bitumen-sealed on Ascension; 2.7 km bitumen-sealed on Tristan da Cunha

Merchant marine [time series]

1 passenger-cargo ship totaling 6,767 GRT/5,600 DWT

Ports [time series]

Jamestown (Saint Helena), Georgetown (Ascension)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

1,500 radio receivers; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 550 telephones in automatic network; HF radio links to Ascension, then into worldwide submarine cable and satellite networks; major coaxial cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK at Ascension; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Note [time series]

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

maize, potatoes, vegetables; timber production being developed; crawfishing on Tristan da Cunha

Budget [time series]

revenues $3.2 million; expenditures $2.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1984)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Saint Helenian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Saint Helenian pound (5S) = 100 pence

Economic aid [time series]

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $184 million

Electricity [time series]

9,800 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced, 1,390 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Saint Helenian pounds (5S) per US$1--0.5171 (January 1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985); note--the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound

Exports [time series]

$23.9 thousand (f.o.b., 1984); commodities--fish (frozen and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), handicrafts; partners--South Africa, UK

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$NA

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April-31 March

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Imports [time series]

$2.4 million (c.i.f., 1984); commodities--food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts; partners--UK, South Africa

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%

Industries [time series]

crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fish

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

- 1.1% (1986)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The economy depends primarily on financial assistance from the UK. The local population earns some income from fishing, the rearing of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, a large proportion of the work force has left to seek employment overseas.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Climate [time series]

tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds

Coastline [time series]

60 km Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly more than 2.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

very few perennial streams

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

arable land 7%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 7%; forest and woodland 3%; other 83%

Natural resources [time series]

fish; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; no minerals

Note [time series]

located 1,920 km west of Angola, about two-thirds of the way between South America and Africa; Napoleon Bonaparte's place of exile and burial; the remains were taken to Paris in 1840

Terrain [time series]

rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains

Area (Total area) [time series]

410 km2; land area: 410 km2; includes Ascension, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha

Administrative divisions [time series]

2 dependencies and 1 administrative area*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha

Capital [time series]

Jamestown

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

probably none

Constitution [time series]

1 January 1967

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, governor, Executive Council (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Head of Government--Governor and Commander in Chief Robert F. STIMSON (since 1987) Saint Helena Labor Party, G. A. O. THORNTON; Saint Helena Progressive Party, leader unknown; note--both political parties inactive since 1976

Legal system [time series]

NA

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Legislative Council

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ICFTU

National holiday [time series]

Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June), 10 June 1989

Suffrage [time series]

NA Legislative Council--last held October 1984 (next to be held NA); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(15 total, 12 elected) number of seats by party NA

Government type (Type) [time series]

dependent territory of the UK

Birth rate [time series]

13 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

NA

Infant mortality rate [time series]

46 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

NA

Languages (Language) [time series]

English

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

70 years male, 75 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

98% (male 97%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1987)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Saint Helenian(s); adjective--Saint Helenian

Net migration rate [time series]

NEGl migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

Saint Helena General Workers' Union, 472 members; crafts 17%, professional and technical 10%, service 10%, management and clerical 9%, farming and fishing 9%, transport 6%, sales 5%, and other 34%

Population [time series]

6,695 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Anglican majority; also Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.4 children born/woman (1991)

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha