World Atlas: Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

Information about Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. But let's start with the flag of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha here:

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha - Overview:

What you should know about Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha? Let's start with this: 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. Saint Helena is one of the most remote populated places in the world. The British Government committed to building an airport on Saint Helena in 2005. After more than a decade of delays and construction, a commercial air service to South Africa via Namibia was inaugurated in October of 2017. The weekly service to Saint Helena from Johannesburg via Windhoek in Namibia takes just over six hours (including the refueling stop in Windhoek) and replaces the mail ship that had made a five-day journey to the island every three weeks. 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. 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 transatlantic 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. It remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. The island hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas (the others are on Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), Kwajalein (Marshall Islands), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. NASA and the US Air Force also operate a Meter-Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension as part of the deep space surveillance system for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough Islands. Tristan da Cunha, named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506), 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.

Geography of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

Where on the globe is Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha? The location of this country is 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. Total area of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha is 394 sq km, of which Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 88 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 184 sq km (includes Tristan (98 sq km), Inaccessible, Nightingale, and Gough islands) is land. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: the islands of this group are of volcanic origin associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge. The lowest point of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha is Atlantic Ocean 0 m, the highest point Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m. And the climate is tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds.

Inhabitants of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

Let's take a look how many people live in Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. The number is: 7,828. So not so many people live here. Who lives here? African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%. What are the languages in Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha? English. And the religions: Protestant 75.9% (includes Anglican 68.9, Baptist 2.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.8%, Salvation Army 1.7%, New Apostolic 1.4%), Jehovah's Witness 4.1%, Roman Catholic 1.2%, other 2.5% (includes Baha'i), unspecified 0.8%, none 6.1%, no response 9.4%. How old are the people in average? 41.9 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 79.6 years. Where the people live in Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha? Here: 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. The major urban areas of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha are: Jamestown (capital) 1,000 (2014).

Government and Economy of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

The capital of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha is Jamestown and the government type parliamentary democracy (Legislative Council); limited self-governing overseas territory of the UK. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 3 administrative areas; Ascension, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha. Regarding the economy of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, important industrial products are construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, collectible postage stamps. Important agricultural products are coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; fish, lobster; livestock; timbe. The most important export commodities are fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts and the most important export partners are unknown. The most important import commodities are food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts and the most important import partners are unknown. How rich is Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $7,800 (FY09/10 est.). This is quite a low number. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: NA%.

Map of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha