Tristan da Cunha | |
---|---|
Motto: "Our faith is our strength" | |
Anthem: "God Save the King" | |
Territorial song: "The Cutty Wren" | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
First settlement | 1810 |
Dependency of Cape Colony | 14 August 1816[1] |
Dependency of Saint Helena | 12 January 1938 |
Current constitution | 1 September 2009 |
Capital and largest settlement | Edinburgh of the Seven Seas 37°4′3″S 12°18′40″W / 37.06750°S 12.31111°W |
Official languages | English |
Demonym(s) | Tristanian |
Government | Devolved locally governing dependency under a constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
• Governor | Nigel Phillips |
Philip Kendall[2] | |
James Glass[3] | |
Legislature | Island Council |
Government of the United Kingdom | |
• Minister | Stephen Doughty |
Area | |
• Total | 207 km2 (80 sq mi) |
• Main island | 98 km2 (38 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 2,062 m (6,765 ft) |
Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 238[4] |
• 2016 census | 293[5] |
• Density | 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) |
Currency | Pound sterling (£) (GBP) |
Time zone | UTC±00:00 (GMT) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
Driving side | Left |
Calling code | +44 20 (assigned +290) |
UK postcode | TDCU 1ZZ |
ISO 3166 code | SH-TA |
Internet TLD |
Tristan da Cunha (/ˌtrɪstən də ˈkuːn(j)ə/), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometres (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometres (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena, 3,949 kilometres (2,454 mi) from Mar del Plata[6] in Argentina, and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.[7][8]
The territory consists of the inhabited island Tristan da Cunha, which has a diameter of roughly 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) and an area of 98 square kilometres (38 sq mi); the wildlife reserves of Gough Island and Inaccessible Island; and the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Islands. As of October 2018[update], the main island has 250 permanent inhabitants, who all carry British Overseas Territories citizenship.[9] The other islands are uninhabited, except for the South African personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.
Tristan da Cunha is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, with its own constitution.[10] There is no airstrip on the main island; the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by ship, a six-day trip from South Africa.[11]