Spratly Islands (2008) | Saint Helena (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 715/female 691)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 2,745/female 2,575) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 330/female 404) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km 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 |
Area - comparative | NA | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 12.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | - | Jamestown |
Climate | tropical | 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) |
Coastline | 926 km | 60 km |
Constitution | - | 1 January 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Death rate | - | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | NA (1996) |
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 | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 4.65 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 5 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
Exchange rates | - | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
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, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | - | Tanzania 30.3%, US 23.8%, Japan 10.4%, UK 7.1%, Spain 6.3% (2004) |
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 |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 8 38 N, 111 55 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 W |
Geography - note | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
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) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | - | UK 35.7%, US 17.6%, South Africa 17.5%, Tanzania 10.4%, Australia 5.5%, Spain 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ICFTU, UPU |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | - | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001) |
Languages | - | English |
Legal system | - | NA |
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 27 June 2001 (next to be held June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.76 years
male: 74.86 years female: 80.81 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam | 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 |
Natural hazards | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential | fish |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states |
7,460 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 0.59% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | NA years of age |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: can communicate worldwide
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 2,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
Terrain | flat | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.54 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 14% (1998 est.) |