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Compare Saint Helena (2006) - Southern Ocean (2008)

Compare Saint Helena (2006) z Southern Ocean (2008)

 Saint Helena (2006)Southern Ocean (2008)
 Saint HelenaSouthern Ocean
Administrative divisions 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* -
Age structure 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 717/female 692)


15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593)


65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 est.)
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Agriculture - products coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha) -
Airports 1


note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006)
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Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
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Area total: 413 sq km


land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC slightly more than twice the size of the US
Background Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.


Saint Helena: 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. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903.


Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic.


Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a meteorological station on Gough Island.
A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate 12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) -
Budget revenues: $11.2 million


expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93)
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Capital name: Jamestown


geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Climate Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds


Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid


Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline Saint Helena: 60 km


Ascension Island: NA


Tristan da Cunha: 40 km
17,968 km
Constitution 1 January 1989 -
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Saint Helena
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Death rate 6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) -
Debt - external $NA -
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) -
Disputes - international none Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) -
Economy - overview 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, raising 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. Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption 4.65 million kWh (2003) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) -
Electricity - production 5 million kWh (2003) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues NA increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements - the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% -
Exchange rates Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)


note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound
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Executive branch chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)


head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004)


cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch
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Exports NA bbl/day -
Exports - commodities fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts -
Exports - partners Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2005) -
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March -
Flag description 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 -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
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GDP - real growth rate NA% -
Geographic coordinates Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W


Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W


Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 30 W
60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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Imports NA bbl/day -
Imports - commodities food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts -
Imports - partners UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2005) -
Independence none (overseas territory of the UK) -
Industrial production growth rate NA% -
Industries construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales -
Infant mortality rate total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.2% (1997 est.) -
International organization participation ICFTU, UPU -
Irrigated land NA -
Judicial branch Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal -
Labor force 2,486


note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 6%


industry: 48%


services: 46% (1987 est.)
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Land boundaries 0 km -
Land use arable land: 12.9%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 87.1% (2005)
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Languages English -
Legal system British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes -
Legislative branch 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)


elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 77.93 years


male: 75.02 years


female: 80.98 years (2006 est.)
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Literacy definition: age 20 and over can read and write


total population: 97%


male: 97%


female: 98% (1987 est.)
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Location islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Africa Antarctic Region
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
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Military - note defense is the responsibility of the UK -
National holiday Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) -
Nationality noun: Saint Helenian(s)


adjective: Saint Helenian


note: referred to locally as "Saints"
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Natural hazards active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources fish, lobster probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) -
Political parties and leaders none -
Political pressure groups and leaders none -
Population 7,502


note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2006 est.)
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Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 0.56% (2006 est.) -
Radio broadcast stations Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0


Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005)
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Religions Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic -
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female


total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
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Suffrage NA years of age -
Telephone system general assessment: can communicate worldwide


domestic: automatic digital network


international: country code - 290; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1)
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Telephones - main lines in use 2,200 (2002) -
Telephones - mobile cellular NA -
Television broadcast stations 0


note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by UHF (2005)
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Terrain the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge


Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains


Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east


Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs
the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) -
Transportation - note there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 14% (1998 est.) -
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