Communications
Airports [time series]
1 with permanent-surface runway 2,440-3,659 m on Ascension
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
87 km paved roads, 20 km earth roads on Saint Helena; 80 km paved roads on Ascension; 2.7 km paved roads on Tristan da Cunha
Jamestown (Saint Helena), Georgetown (Ascension)
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
1,500 radio receivers; broadcast 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 submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK at Ascension; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Defense Forces
defense is the responsibility of the UK
Economy
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 (#S) = 100 pence
Economic aid [time series]
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $198 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 (#S) per US$1 - 0.5799 (March 1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987); 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%
Geography
Climate [time series]
tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Coastline [time series]
60 km
Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]
slightly more than 2.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]
none
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
very few perennial streams
Area (Land area) [time series]
410 km2; includes Ascension, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha
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%
Maritime claims [time series]
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources [time series]
fish; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; no minerals
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
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*
Capital [time series]
Jamestown
Constitution [time series]
1 January 1967
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]
none (dependent territory of the UK)
Executive branch (Elections) [time series]
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
Executive branch [time series]
British monarch, governor, Executive Council (cabinet)
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
Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]
Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) Head of Government: Governor A. N. HOOLE
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
Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]
Saint Helena Labor Party, leader NA; Saint Helena Progressive Party, leader NA; note - both political parties inactive since 1976
Suffrage [time series]
NA
Government type (Type) [time series]
dependent territory of the UK
People
Birth rate [time series]
10 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate [time series]
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
NA
Infant mortality rate [time series]
40 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force [time series]
NA
Languages [time series]
English
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
72 years male, 76 years female (1992)
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]
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
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]
6,698 (July 1992), growth rate 0.3% (1992)
Religions [time series]
Anglican majority; also Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Roman Catholic
Total fertility rate [time series]
1.2 children born/woman (1992)