CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Saint Helena


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!| Background:
 * Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands water: 0 sq km land: 410 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Geography - note:
 * islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa
 * 15 56 S, 5 42 W
 * Africa
 * total: 410 sq km
 * slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 60 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
 * Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
 * lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
 * fish
 * arable land: 12.9%
 * NA sq km
 * active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha
 * NA
 * harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 71.4% (male 2,739; female 2,559) 65 years and over: 9.7% (male 319; female 399) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 34.9 years female: 34.5 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 15.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 23.7 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 74.67 years female: 80.61 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Saint Helenian !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.)
 * 7,415 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 710; female 689)
 * total: 34.7 years
 * 0.62% (2004 est.)
 * 12.68 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
 * total: 19.85 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 77.57 years
 * 1.54 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Saint Helenian(s)
 * African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%
 * Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic
 * English
 * definition: age 20 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Saint Helena !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since 1999); Michael CLANCY (taking office in October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: none
 * overseas territory of the UK
 * NA
 * Jamestown
 * 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)
 * 1 January 1989
 * NA
 * NA years of age
 * chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
 * 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)
 * Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court
 * none
 * none
 * ICFTU, UPU
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: NA !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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, the raising of 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.)
 * NA
 * purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.)
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 3.2% (1997 est.)
 * 3,500
 * agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.)
 * 14% (1998 est.)
 * revenues: $11.2 million
 * corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha)
 * construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing
 * NA
 * 5 million kWh (2001)
 * 4.65 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $17 million f.o.b. (2002)
 * fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts
 * US 26.7%, Tanzania 21.9%, Indonesia 9.4%, UK 8.7%, Japan 7.4%, Netherlands 7.2%, Nigeria 6.8%, Poland 5%, Spain 4.9% (2003)
 * $42 million c.i.f. (2002)
 * food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts
 * UK 29.1%, South Africa 24.7%, Spain 16.4%, Italy 8.8%, Tanzania 8.2%, US 5.8% (2003)
 * NA (1996)
 * $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997)
 * Saint Helenian pound (SHP)
 * SHP
 * Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998),
 * 1 April - 31 March
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: automatic network international: country code - 290; HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension Island, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users: !| Communications - note:
 * 2,200 (2002)
 * 0 (1997)
 * general assessment: can communicate worldwide
 * AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 3,000 (1997)
 * 0
 * 2,000 (1997)
 * .sh
 * 1 (2000)
 * 500 (2002)
 * Gough Island has a meteorological station
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!| Highways: 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) (2000) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
 * Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown
 * none
 * 1 (2003 est.)
 * total: 1
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!| Military - note:
 * defense is the responsibility of the UK
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