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

25 04 S, 130 06 W

Oceania

about three tenths the size of Washington, DC

0 km

51 km

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

NA

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

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

Seventh-Day Adventist 100%

48 (July 2011 est.)

0% (2011 est.)

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NA

NA

NA

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overseas territory of the UK

NA

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

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

The Pitcairn Constitution Order 2010, effective 4 March 2010

local island by-laws

18 years of age; universal with three years residency

unicameral Island Council (11 seats; mayor, deputy mayor, 4 members elected by popular vote, 1 member appointed by the governor, 3 ex officio members including governor, deputy governor, and commissioner; deputy mayor and elected members serve two-year terms)

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

none

none

SPC, UPU

none (overseas territory of the UK)

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 green, yellow, and blue of the shield represents the island rising from the ocean; the green field features a yellow anchor surmounted by a bible (both the anchor and the bible were items found on the HMS Bounty); sitting on the crest is a Pitcairn Island wheelbarrow from which springs a slip of miro (a local plant)

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.

$NA

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

$NA

fruits, vegetables, curios, stamps

$NA

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

New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar -

1.3874 (2010)

1.6002 (2009)

1.4151 (2008)

1.3811 (2007)

1.5408 (2006)

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

no local broadcast television or radio stations (2009)

.pn

20 (2010)

Adamstown (on Bounty Bay)

defense is the responsibility of the UK

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