CIA - The World Factbook

Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today.

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about midway between Peru and New Zealand

about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

tropical; hot and humid; modified by southeast trade winds; rainy season (November to March)

rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs

miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish

typhoons (especially November to March)

deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)

Britain's most isolated dependency; only the larger island of Pitcairn is inhabited but it has no port or natural harbor; supplies must be transported by rowed longboat from larger ships stationed offshore

descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives

Seventh-Day Adventist 100%

English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)

overseas territory of the UK

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)

30 November 1838; reformed in 1904 with additional reforms in 1940; further refined by the Local Government Ordinance of 1964

local island by-laws

18 years of age; universal with three years residency

unicameral Island Council (10 seats; 5 members elected by popular vote, 1 nominated by the 5 elected members, 2 appointed by the governor including 1 seat for the Island Secretary, the Island Mayor, and a commissioner liaising between the governor and council; elected members serve one-year terms)

Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judicial officers are appointed by the governor

none (overseas territory of the UK)

blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Pitcairn Islander coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms is yellow, green, and light blue with a shield featuring a yellow anchor

The inhabitants of this tiny isolated economy exist on fishing, subsistence farming, handicrafts, and postage stamps. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of postage stamps to collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships. In October 2004, more than one-quarter of Pitcairn's small labor force was arrested, putting the economy in a bind, since their services were required as lighter crew to load or unload passing ships.

15 able-bodied men (2004)

honey; wide variety of fruits and vegetables; goats, chickens, fish

postage stamps, handicrafts, beekeeping, honey

NA kWh; note - electric power is provided by a small diesel-powered generator

fruits, vegetables, curios, stamps

fuel oil, machinery, building materials, flour, sugar, other foodstuffs

New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar - 1.6204 (2009), 1.4151 (2008), 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005)

1 (there are 17 telephones on one party line); (2004)

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (15 ham radio operators (VP6)) (2004)

Adamstown (on Bounty Bay)

defense is the responsibility of the UK