202 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
202 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
SAINT HELENA
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(dependent territory of the UK)
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 410 km2; land area: 410 km2; includes Ascension, Gough
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Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha
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Comparative area: slightly more than 2.3 times the size of
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Washington, DC
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 60 km
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Maritime claims:
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Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
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Terrain: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
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Natural resources: fish; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea
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turtles and sooty terns; no minerals
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Land use: arable land 7%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
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pastures 7%; forest and woodland 3%; other 83%
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Environment: very few perennial streams
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Note: located 1,920 km west of Angola, about two-thirds of the
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way between South America and Africa; Napoleon Bonaparte's place of
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exile and burial; the remains were taken to Paris in 1840
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PEOPLE
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Population: 6,695 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
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Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: NEGl migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 46 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Saint Helenian(s); adjective--Saint Helenian
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Ethnic divisions: NA
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Religion: Anglican majority; also Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist,
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and Roman Catholic
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Language: English
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Literacy: 98% (male 97%, female 98%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1987)
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Labor force: NA
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Organized labor: Saint Helena General Workers' Union, 472 members;
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crafts 17%, professional and technical 10%, service 10%, management and
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clerical 9%, farming and fishing 9%, transport 6%, sales 5%, and other
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34%
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: dependent territory of the UK
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Capital: Jamestown
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Administrative divisions: 2 dependencies and 1 administrative
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area*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha
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Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
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Constitution: 1 January 1967
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Legal system: NA
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National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
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Saturday in June), 10 June 1989
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Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council
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(cabinet)
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Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
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Head of Government--Governor and Commander in Chief Robert
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F. STIMSON (since 1987)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Saint Helena Labor Party, G. A. O. THORNTON;
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Saint Helena Progressive Party, leader unknown;
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note--both political parties inactive since 1976
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Suffrage: NA
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Elections:
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Legislative Council--last held October 1984 (next to be held NA);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(15 total, 12 elected) number of seats by party NA
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Communists: probably none
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Member of: ICFTU
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Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
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Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
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quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the
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flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy depends primarily on financial assistance
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from the UK. The local population earns some income from fishing, the
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rearing of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few
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jobs, a large proportion of the work force has left to seek employment
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overseas.
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GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 1.1% (1986)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $3.2 million; expenditures $2.9 million,
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including capital expenditures of NA (1984)
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Exports: $23.9 thousand (f.o.b., 1984);
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commodities--fish (frozen and salt-dried skipjack, tuna),
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handicrafts;
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partners--South Africa, UK
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Imports: $2.4 million (c.i.f., 1984);
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commodities--food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed,
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building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts;
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partners--UK, South Africa
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External debt: $NA
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Industrial production: growth rate NA%
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Electricity: 9,800 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced,
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1,390 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fish
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Agriculture: maize, potatoes, vegetables; timber production being
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developed; crawfishing on Tristan da Cunha
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Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
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commitments (1970-88), $184 million
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Currency: Saint Helenian pound (plural--pounds);
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1 Saint Helenian pound (LS) = 100 pence
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Exchange rates: Saint Helenian pounds (LS) per US$1--0.5171
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(January 1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102
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(1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985); note--the Saint Helenian pound is
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at par with the British pound
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Highways: 87 km bitumen-sealed roads, 20 km earth roads on
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Saint Helena; 80 km bitumen-sealed on Ascension; 2.7 km bitumen-sealed on
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Tristan da Cunha
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Ports: Jamestown (Saint Helena), Georgetown (Ascension)
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Merchant marine: 1 passenger-cargo ship totaling 6,767 GRT/5,600
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DWT
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Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 2,440-3,659 m on
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Ascension
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Telecommunications: 1,500 radio receivers; stations--1 AM,
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no FM, no TV; 550 telephones in automatic network; HF radio links to
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Ascension, then into worldwide submarine cable and satellite networks;
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major coaxial cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK at
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Ascension; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
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