Compare Saint Helena (2007) - British Virgin Islands (2007)

Compare Saint Helena (2007) z British Virgin Islands (2007)

	Saint Helena (2007)	British Virgin Islands (2007)

Administrative divisions	1 administrative area and 2 dependencies; Ascension, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: 18.7% (male 716/female 691) 15-64 years: 71.1% (male 2,755/female 2,608) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 358/female 415) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha); livestock	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	1 (2007)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
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: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke
Area - comparative	slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
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 a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island.	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	11.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $12.07 million expenditures: $29.64 million note: revenue data reflect locally raised revenues only; the budget deficit is resolved by grant aid from the United Kingdom (FY06/07 est.)	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
Capital	name: Jamestown geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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)	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	Saint Helena: 60 km Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km	80 km
Constitution	1 January 1989	13 June 2007
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Helena	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Death rate	6.63 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	$27.25 million obtained in a grant from the United Kingdom (FY06/07)	$NA
Economy - overview	The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which will amount to about $27 million in FY06/07 or almost 70% 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.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	7.44 million kWh (2005)	41.85 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	8 million kWh (2005)	45 million kWh (2005)
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	NA	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Ethnic groups	African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)
Exchange rates	Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.5434 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002) note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Andrew GURR (since 11 November 2007) 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	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2006)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	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	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	1% (2002 est.)
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	18 30 N, 64 30 W
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	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2006)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: 17.67 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.2% (1997 est.)	2% (2005)
International organization participation	UPU	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	2,486 note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.)	12,770 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 6% industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 est.)	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 12.9% permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)
Languages	English	English (official)
Legal system	English common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes	English law
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three 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 in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 12	unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.09 years male: 75.19 years female: 81.15 years (2007 est.)	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
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	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	defense is the responsibility of the UK
National holiday	Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)
Nationality	noun: Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints"	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	fish, lobster	NEGL
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	7,543 note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2007 est.)	23,552 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	0.53% (2007 est.)	1.923% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female total population: 1.031 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	NA years of age	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: can communicate worldwide domestic: automatic digital network international: country code (Saint Helena) - 290, (Ascension Island) - 247; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	2,200 (2002)	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	0 (3 television channels are received via satellite and distributed by UHF) (2005)	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)
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	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	1.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.72 children born/woman (2007 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	-
Unemployment rate	14% (1998 est.)	3.6% (1997)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.