Daily Almanac for
Aug 21, 2008
Search White Pages
Info search tips
Bio search tips
Countries > United Kingdom > Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom
Travel to Saint Helena — Unbiased reviews and great deals from TripAdvisor

St. Helena

Map of St. Helena
Map of St. Helena

Status: Overseas territory

Governor: David Hollamby (1999)

Total area: 158 sq mi (410 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 7,502 (growth rate: 0.6%); birth rate: 12.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 18.3/1000; life expectancy: 77.9; density per sq mi: 47

Capital (2003 est.): Jamestown, 1,500

Monetary unit: Saint Helena pound

Language: English

Ethnicity/race: African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%

Literacy rate: 97% (1987 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP: (1998 est.): $18 million; per capita $2,500. Inflation: 3.2% (1997 est.). Unemployment: 14% (1998 est.). Exports: $19 million f.o.b. (2004 est.). Imports: $45 million c.i.f. (2004 est.).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 2,200 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005). Television broadcast stations: 0 (3 television channels are received via satellite and distributed by UHF) (2005). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 283 (2007). Internet users: 1,000: note - includes Ascension Island (2003).

Transportation: Highways: total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km) paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2002). Airports: 1 (2007).

Major sources and definitions

St. Helena is a remote volcanic island in the South Atlantic about 1,100 mi (1,770 km) from the west coast of Africa. It is famous as Napoléon's place of exile (1815–1821). The island was discovered in 1502 by João da Nova, a Spanish navigator in the service of Portugal. It was taken for England in 1659 by the East India Company and was brought under the direct government of the Crown in 1834. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1870, St. Helena's importance as a port of call diminished. About two-thirds of the colony's budget is provided by the United Kingdom in the form of a subsidy.

St. Helena has two dependencies: Ascension (34 sq mi; 88 sq km), an island about 700 mi (1,127 km) northwest of St. Helena; and Tristan da Cunha (40 sq mi; 104 sq km), a group of six islands about 1,500 mi (2,414 km) south-southwest of St. Helena.

See also Encyclopedia: Saint Helena.


Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pitcairn Island Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

More on St Helena from Infoplease:

  • Jamestown, town, St. Helena - Jamestown Jamestown, town, port, and capital (1998 pop. 864) of Saint Helena, in the S Atlantic. ...
  • Amy Lowell: St. Helena, May, 1821 - Tap! Tap! Tap! Through the white tropic night. Tap! Tap! Beat the hammers, Unwearied, indefatigable. They are hanging dull black cloth about the dead.
  • - Can't read file louisiana/st-helena-parish/default.html
  • Sir Hudson Lowe - Lowe, Sir Hudson Lowe, Sir Hudson , 1769–1844, British general. He fought with credit ...
  • Saint Helena: History - History Discovered uninhabited by the Portuguese navigator João da Nova Castella in 1502, ...