10 July 2020
World Population Day is tomorrow, Saturday 11 July.
To recognise and celebrate the day on St Helena, here are some population ‘fun facts’ about the Island and the world:
· In 2020, the number of people on the entire planet earth is around 7.8 billion people, over 1.7 million times more than on St Helena
· Every year, the planet adds around 83 million people, around 158 per minute, or between two and three people per second
· St Helena currently has a population of just over 4,500 people; it takes just under half an hour for the population of the world to increase by that many
· Since the early 19th century, the resident population of St Helena has fluctuated between around 3,500 and 6,000
· The highest number of people ever recorded in a census on St Helena was in 1901, when the population increased to more than 9,700 by the temporary presence of Boer prisoners-of-war
· In 1871, there were 2,963 people living in Jamestown, excluding 99 people living in Rupert’s. In 2016, there were just 629 people living in Jamestown – including those in Rupert’s
· In 1987, just over one in every five people did not have electricity in their homes on St Helena
· In 1956, almost half the population of St Helena were children under 16 years old; in 2016, only 15% were children. 7% of the population was 65 or older; in 2016, this was 21%
· St Helena has one of the highest Aged Dependency Ratios in the world, at 35 in 2016 – only Japan is higher (the Aged Dependency Ratio is the number of people 65 and older divided by the number of people of working age, multiplied by 100).
These, and many other details about the population, are only possible though censuses, typically undertaken every five to ten years. St Helena is planning to conduct its next Population and Housing Census in early 2021, and the Statistics Office is currently conducting a pilot census
exercise to test the questionnaires and the methodology. They would welcome your comments on the draft questionnaires, which can be found at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/ – please either use the comment forms provided or contact the Statistics Office directly.
#StHelena #WorldPopulationDay #Statistics #FunFacts #Census2021
SHG
10 July 2020