Pitcairn Islands

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

NA

Internet country code

.pn

Internet users

NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Telephone system

general assessment: only party line telephone service is available for this small, closely related community domestic: party line service only international: radiotelephone

Telephones - main lines in use

1 (there are 17 telephones on one party line) (1997)

Television broadcast stations

0 (1997)

Agriculture - products

wide variety of fruits and vegetables, goats, chickens

Budget

revenues: $729,884 expenditures: $878,119, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 94/95 est.)

Currency

New Zealand dollar (NZD)

Currency code

NZD

Debt - external

$NA

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

Economy - overview

The inhabitants of this tiny isolated economy exist on fishing, subsistence farming, handicrafts, and postage stamps. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of postage stamps to collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships.

Electricity - consumption

NA kWh

Electricity - production

NA kWh; note - electric power is provided by a small diesel-powered generator

Exchange rates

New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5083 (1997)

Exports

$NA

Exports - commodities

fruits, vegetables, curios, stamps

Exports - partners

NA (2000)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$NA

Imports - commodities

fuel oil, machinery, building materials, flour, sugar, other foodstuffs

Imports - partners

NA (2000)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

postage stamps, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Labor force

12 able-bodied men (1997)

Labor force - by occupation

no business community in the usual sense; some public works; subsistence farming and fishing

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total: 47 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 47 sq km

Area - comparative

about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

tropical, hot, humid; modified by southeast trade winds; rainy season (November to March)

Coastline

51 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m

Environment - current issues

deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)

Geographic coordinates

25 04 S, 130 06 W

Geography - note

Britain's most isolated dependency; only the larger island of Pitcairn is inhabited but it has no port or natural harbor; supplies must be transported by rowed longboat from larger ships stationed offshore

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.)

Location

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about midway between Peru and New Zealand

Map references

Oceania

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM

Natural hazards

typhoons (especially November to March)

Natural resources

miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish note: manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver, and zinc have been discovered offshore

Terrain

rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs

Administrative divisions

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Capital

Adamstown

Constitution

1838; reformed 1904 with additional reforms in 1940; further refined by the Local Government Ordinance of 1964

Country name

conventional long form: Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands conventional short form: Pitcairn Islands

Dependency status

overseas territory of the UK

Diplomatic representation from the US

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by UK High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor (nonresident) of the Pitcairn Islands Richard FELL (since NA December 2001); Commissioner (nonresident) Leon SALT (since NA); serves as liaison between the governor and the Island Council election results: Steve CHRISTIAN elected mayor; percent of vote - NA% elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner and commissioner appointed by the monarch; island magistrate elected by popular vote for a three-year term; election last held NA December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2002) head of government: Mayor and Chairman of the Island Council Steve CHRISTIAN (since 7 December 1999) cabinet: NA

Flag description

blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Pitcairn Islander coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms is yellow, green, and light blue with a shield featuring a yellow anchor

Government type

NA

Independence

none (overseas territory of the UK)

International organization participation

SPC

Judicial branch

Island Court (island magistrate presides over the court and is elected every three years)

Legal system

local island by-laws

Legislative branch

unicameral Island Council (10 seats - 6 elected by popular vote, 1 appointed by the 6 elected members, 2 appointed by the governor, and 1 seat for the Island Secretary; members serve one-year terms) elections: last held NA December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents

National holiday

Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)

Political parties and leaders

none

Political pressure groups and leaders

none

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal with three years residency

Background

Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today.

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Age structure

0-14 years: NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups

descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA%

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Infant mortality rate

total: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Languages

English (official), Pitcairnese (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.)

Literacy

NA

Nationality

noun: Pitcairn Islander(s) adjective: Pitcairn Islander

Net migration rate

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Population

47 (July 2003 est.)

Population growth rate

NA%

Religions

Seventh-Day Adventist 100%

Sex ratio

NA (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman (2003 est.)

Disputes - international

none

Airports

none (2002)

Highways

total: 6.4 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 6.4 km

Merchant marine

none (2002 est.)

Ports and harbors

Adamstown (on Bounty Bay)

Railways

0 km

Waterways

none