Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown elsewhere 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. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 1,300 km (800 mi) northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 4,300 km (2,700 mi) southwest of Saint Helena |
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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 |
Map references | Africa |
Tarrain | the islands of this group are of volcanic origin 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; terrain 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 |
Natural Resources | fish, lobster |
Natural Hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha volcanism: the island volcanoes of Tristan da Cunha (2,060 m) and Nightingale Island (365 m) experience volcanic activity; Tristan da Cunha erupted in 1962 and Nightingale in 2004 |
Irrigated Land | 0 sq km (2022) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 0 km |
Border Countries | |
Coastline | Saint Helena: 60 km Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha (island only): 34 km |
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) |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 122 sq km Saint Helena Island |
Water Area | 0 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive fishing zone | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Diana's Peak on Saint Helena Island 818 m |
Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 30.8% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 10.3% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 20.5% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 5.1% (2018 est.) |
Other | 64.1% (2018 est.) |
Saint Helena - population is concentrated in and around the capital Jamestown in the northwest, with another significant cluster in the interior Longwood area; Ascension - largest settlement, and location of most of the population, is Georgetown; Tristan da Cunha - most of the nearly 300 inhabitants live in the northern coastal town of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
In Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: St. Helena 82.1%, UK 7.6%, South Africa 3.6%, Ascension 2.8%, other 3.9% (2021 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 0.1% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 9.3 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | NA |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 1.61 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 0.78 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | NA |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | |
Literacy | |
Education expenditures | NA |
Net Migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Saint Helenian | Saint Helenian(s) |
Languages | English |
Religions | Protestant 69.4% (includes Anglican 63.2%, Baptist 2.3%, Salvation Army 2%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.9%), Jehovah's Witness 3.8%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, New Apostolic 1.6%, other Christian 1.4%, other 1.1%, none 9%, unspecified 11.4% (2021 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 14.3% (male 579/female 556) |
15-64 years | 66.5% (male 2,626/female 2,655) |
65 years and over | 19.2% (2024 est.) (male 773/female 754) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 68.6 NA |
Youth dependency ratio | 23.6 NA |
Elderly dependency ratio | 45.1 NA |
Potential support ratio | 2.2 (2021) NA |
Median Age | |
Total | 45.1 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 44.8 years |
Female | 45.4 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 40.7% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 1,000 JAMESTOWN (capital) (2018). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.04 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 0.99 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 1.03 male(s)/female |
Total population | 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 18.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 21.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 14.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 80.9 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 78.1 years |
Female | 83.9 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: NA |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: 99.1% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: NA |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: 0.9% of population (2020) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: NA |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: NA |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020) |
The vast majority of the population of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha live on Saint Helena. Ascension has no indigenous or permanent residents and is inhabited only by persons contracted to work on the island (mainly with the UK and US military or in the space and communications industries) or their dependents, while Tristan da Cunha – the main island in a small archipelago – has fewer than 300 residents. The population of Saint Helena consists of the descendants of 17th century British sailors and settlers from the East India Company, African slaves, and indentured servants and laborers from India, Indonesia, and China. Most of the population of Ascension are Saint Helenians, Britons, and Americans, while that of Tristan da Cunha descends from shipwrecked sailors and Saint Helenians.
Change in Saint Helena’s population size is driven by net outward migration. Since the 1980s, Saint Helena’s population steadily has shrunk and aged as the birth rate has decreased and many working-age residents left for better opportunities elsewhere. The restoration of British citizenship in 2002 accelerated family emigration; from 1998 to 2008 alone, population declined by about 20%.
In the 2010s, the population experienced some temporary growth, as foreigners and returning Saint Helenians, came to build an international airport, but numbers faded as the project reached completion and workers departed. With the airport fully operational, increased access to the remote island has the potential to boost tourism and fishing, provide more jobs for Saint Helenians domestically, and could encourage some ex-patriots to return home. In the meantime, however, Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha have to contend with the needs of an aging population. The elderly population of the islands has risen from an estimated 9.4% in 1998 to 18% in 2022.
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