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Demographics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

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Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha are British Overseas Territories in the south Atlantic Ocean.

Saint Helena

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Census population
YearPop.±% p.a.
167066—    
17231,110+5.47%
18176,150+1.84%
18516,914+0.34%
18616,860−0.08%
18716,241−0.94%
18815,059−2.08%
18914,116−2.04%
19019,850+9.12%
19113,520−9.78%
19213,747+0.63%
YearPop.±% p.a.
19313,995+0.64%
19464,748+1.16%
19564,642−0.23%
19664,649+0.02%
19765,147+1.02%
19875,644+0.84%
19985,157−0.82%
20084,257−1.90%
20164,534+0.79%
20214,439−0.42%
Source: 2008 Census, St. Helena Government

When Saint Helena was discovered in the 16th century the island was uninhabited. With almost 10,000 inhabitants at the 1901 census, the highest number of residents was reached. However, this number included almost 6,000 Boer prisoners of war[1]. Excluding the prisoners of war (who were on the island during 1900-1902), the highest population in the twentieth century was reached in 1987. The population gradually decreased thereafter and reached 4,000 in 2024[2], mainly descended from Africans, Mixed race African and Europeans, British settlers, East India Company employees and indentured labourers from the South Asian sub-Continent, East Indies, Madagascar and China.[3]

The language spoken in Saint Helena is English.

The people of Saint Helena are Saint Helenians (though locally they are known as "Saints"); the demonym being Saint Helenian.

A census in February 2016 recorded a population of 4,534 on the island.[4] This compares with a figure of 4,257 recorded in 2008[5] and a figure of 5,157 recorded in 1998. The fall between 1998 and 2008 can be explained mostly by emigration, especially since 2002 when the islanders were granted full British citizenship. The main diasporas are to the United Kingdom, South Africa and more recently to the Falkland Islands, as well as on Ascension Island. The population density, based on the 2016 figure, is 37.3 persons per km2, or 95.3 per sq mile.

The island of Saint Helena is administratively divided into eight districts,[6] each with a community centre. The districts also serve as statistical subdivisions. The island is a single electoral area, sending twelve representatives to the Legislative Council.

Districts of Saint Helena
District
balance
[clarification needed] 		Area[7]
km2 		Area
sq mi		 Pop.
1998		 Pop.
2008[5]		 Pop.
2016[4]		 Pop./km2
2016
Alarm Forest 5.4 2.1 289 276 383 70.4
Blue Hill 36.8 14.2 177 153 158 4.3
Half Tree Hollow 1.6 0.6 1,140 901 984 633.2
Jamestown 3.9 1.5 884 716 629 161.9
Levelwood 14.8 5.7 376 316 369 25.0
Longwood 33.4 12.9 960 715 790 23.6
Sandy Bay 16.1 6.2 254 205 193 12.0
Saint Paul's 11.4 4.4 908 795 843 74.0
Royal Mail Ship
St. Helena[clarification needed] 		– – 149 171 183 –
Jamestown
Harbour 		– – 20 9 13 –
Total 123.3 47.6 5,157 4,257 4,349 35.3

Age structure

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Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 07.II.2021) (Data refer to resident population.):[8]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 2 247 2 192 4 439 100
0–4 94 88 182 4.10
5–9 109 112 221 4.98
10–14 117 96 213 4.80
15–19 83 92 175 3.94
20–24 92 83 175 3.94
25–29 112 89 201 4.53
30–34 107 107 214 4.82
35–39 119 151 270 6.08
40–44 101 131 232 5.23
45–49 158 150 308 6.94
50–54 205 195 400 9.01
55–59 171 179 350 7.88
60–64 205 186 391 8.81
65-69 174 145 319 7.19
70-74 167 157 324 7.30
75-79 138 106 244 5.50
80-84 60 64 124 2.79
85-89 30 31 61 1.37
90-94 5 21 26 0.59
95-99 0 8 8 0.18
100+ 0 1 1 0.02
Age group Male Female Total Per cent
0–14 320 296 616 13.88
15–64 1 353 1 363 2 716 61.18
65+ 574 533 1107 24.94
Sex ratio
Age range (years) Ratio male/female
at birth 1.049
0-14 1.04
15-64 1.04
65+ 0.94
Total 1.02

Vital statistics

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Births and deaths[9]

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Year Population(01.01) (×1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural change TFR
2009 35 41 −6 8.5 9.9 −1.4
2010 4.121 34 53 −19 9.1 12.5 −3.4
2011 4.188 34 49 −15 9.1 12.3 −3.2
2012 4.316 32 62 −30 8.5 12.4 −3.9
2013 4.311 35 55 −20 8.3 12.6 -4.3
2014 4.649 48 61 −13 8.8 13.4 −4.6
2015 4.791 40 55 −15 9.2 13.3 −4.1
2016 4.837 35 45 −10 9.3 12.7 −3.4
2017 4.608 36 58 −22 9.7 12.5 −2.8
2018 4.951 26 52 −26 9.1 12.3 −3.2
2019 4.760 31 38 −7 8.4 11.2 −2.8
2020 4.609 29 49 −20 6.3 10.6 -4.3
2021 4,423 39 68 -29 9.0 15.6 -6.7
2022 4,268 26 64 -38 6.1 15.0 -8.9
2023 4,245 19 61 -42 4.5 14.4 -9.9

Life expectancy

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By 2010 estimates, life expectancy at birth for the total population is 78.6 years (for males it is 75.68; for females it is 81.67).

Infant mortality

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The infant mortality rate is 16.98 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Ethnicity

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According to the CIA World Factbook, 50% of the population of Saint Helena Island are African Saint Helenians, while Chinese Saint Helenians and White Saint Helenians make up 25% each. However, the possibility of clear-cut categorical divisions between ethnicities on present day St Helena, as reflected by these statistics, is disputed.[10] Most Saint Helenians today are multiracial, similar to the Cape Coloureds.

Ascension has no civilian population, while Tristan da Cunha has a white population descended primarily from the British Isles or from the Falkland Islands.

Religion

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See also: Category:Religion in Saint Helena

The majority of St. Helenians are Anglican. Other religions in St. Helena include (in alphabetic order): the Baháʼí Faith,[11] the Baptist church, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, and Seventh-day Adventism.

According to the statistics in the 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Saint Helena has the highest proportion of Jehovah's Witnesses of any country or territory in the world: one person in thirty-five, using an estimated population of 4,000 for St Helena and a count of 118 members.[12]

In Tristan da Cunha, Christianity is the main religion, with the largest denominations being Anglican and Roman Catholic.

Religious Resident population (St Helena) Percentage[13]
Yes 3676 84.5
No 266 6.1
Prefer not to say 407 9.4
Denomination Resident population (St Helena) Percentage
Anglican 2995 81.5
Jehovah's Witness 178 4.8
Baptist 93 2.5
Roman Catholic 53 1.4
New Apostolic 61 1.7
Seventh Day Adventist 77 2.1
Salvation Army 75 2.0
Baháʼí 11 0.3
Other 97 2.6
Not Stated 36 1

Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha

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Ascension Island has a population of around eight hundred inhabitants, with the majority being Saint Helenians, located in Georgetown on the west coast of the island, with another small settlement, Two Boats, located in Ascension's interior.

Tristan da Cunha has a population of about three hundred inhabitants, mainly located in the Edinburgh of the Seven Seas settlement on Tristan's North Coast.

Nationality

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See also: British nationality law

The citizens of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha hold British Overseas Territories citizenship. On 21 May 2002 they were granted access to full British citizenship by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002,[14] and there is a special Saint Helena passport issued to them.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://sthelenaisland.info/boer-prisoners/
  2. ^ https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/population-and-demography/
  3. ^ "Official Tourism Site linked from official Government of St Helena website". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Census 2016 – summary report" (PDF). St Helena Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b "2008 Population Census of St Helena" (PDF). St Helena Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  6. ^ St Helena Independent, 3 October 2008, p. 2
  7. ^ "Census 2016- Summary Data". St Helena Government. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ "UNSD – Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Demographic Yearbook". United Nations Statistics Division.[not specific enough to verify]
  10. ^ See George, 2002, pp. 93–94 and Shine, 1970, pp. 15–16
  11. ^ http://www.sthelenabahai.org Website of the Bahá’í Community of St. Helena
  12. ^ 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. p. 184.
  13. ^ http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Census-2016-Summary-Report.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  14. ^ Browne, Anthony (12 May 2002). "Banished islanders are British again". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
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