Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

Airports

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

Highways

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

Merchant marine

1 passenger-cargo ship totaling 3,150 GRT/2,264 DWT

Ports

Jamestown (St. Helena), Georgetown (Ascension)

Telecommunications

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

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Agriculture

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

Aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $168 million

Budget

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

Currency

St. Helenian pound (plural--pounds); 1 St. Helenian pound (LS) = 100 pence

Electricity

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

Exchange rates

St. Helenian pounds (LS) per US$1--0.6055 (January 1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985); note--the St. Helenian pound is at par with the British pound

Exports

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

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GDP

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

Imports

$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 NA%

Industries

crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fish

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

- 1.1% (1986)

Overview

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 have left to seek employment overseas.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds

Coastline

60 km

Comparative area

slightly more than 2.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment

very few perennial streams

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Natural resources

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

Note

Napoleon Bonaparte's place of exile and burial; the remains were taken to Paris in 1840

Terrain

rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

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

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Jamestown

Communists

probably none

Constitution

1 January 1967

Diplomatic representation

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Executive branch

British monarch, governor, Executive Council (cabinet)

Flag

blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the St. Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship

Independence

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Judicial branch

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)

Legal system

NA

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Council

Long-form name

none

National holiday

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

Political parties and leaders

St. Helena Labor Party, G. A. O. Thornton; St. Helena Progressive Party, leader unknown; note--both political parties inactive since 1976

Suffrage

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

Type

dependent territory of the UK

Birth rate

13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

NA

Infant mortality rate

46 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

NA

Language

English

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Literacy

NA%, but probably high

Nationality

noun--St. Helenian(s); adjective--St. Helenian

Net migration rate

NEGl migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

St. Helena General Workers' Union, 472 members; 17% crafts, 10% professional and technical, 10% service, 9% management and clerical, 9% farming and fishing, 6% transport, 5% sales, 1% security, and 33% other

Population

6,657 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Religion

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

Total fertility rate

1.4 children born/woman (1990)