Home > Factbook > Countries > Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
| Population | 7,862 (July 2020 est.) note: Saint Helena's Statistical Office estimated the de facto population to be 4,577 in 2019; only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited, none of the other nearby islands/islets are |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.15% (male 607/female 584) 15-24 years: 12.12% (male 486/female 467) 25-54 years: 43.06% (male 1,685/female 1,700) 55-64 years: 12.96% (male 503/female 516) 65 years and over: 16.71% (male 670/female 644) (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 43.2 years male: 43.2 years female: 43.3 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.13% (2020 est.) |
| Birth rate | 9.4 births/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 40.1% of total population (2020) rate of urbanization: 0.73% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 1,000 JAMESTOWN (capital) (2018) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 101 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 12 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80 years male: 77.1 years female: 83.1 years (2020 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA |
| Drinking water source | improved: total: 100% of population unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: total: 100% of population unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017) |
| Nationality | noun: Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
| Ethnic groups | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
| 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% (2016 est.) note: data represent Saint Helena only |
| Demographic profile | 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 last few years, population has experienced some temporary growth, as foreigners and returning Saint Helenians, have come to build an international airport, but numbers are beginning to fade as the project reaches completion and workers depart. In the long term, once the airport is 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 20.4% in 2016. |
| Languages | English |
| Education expenditures | NA |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on Friday, November 27, 2020
