Arctic Ocean (2001) | Mayotte (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
46.59% (male 38,188; female 37,920) 15-64 years: 51.73% (male 46,132; female 38,378) 65 years and over: 1.68% (male 1,361; female 1,387) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra |
Airports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total:
374 sq km land: 374 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other Comoros in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forgo independence. |
Birth rate | - | 44.39 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.) |
Capital | - | Mamoutzou |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 185.2 km |
Constitution | - | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | - | conventional long form:
Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte conventional short form: Mayotte |
Currency | - | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | - | 8.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territorial collectivity of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | claimed by Comoros |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $107.7 million (1995); note - extensive French financial assistance |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Benara 660 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | NA |
Exchange rates | - | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre BAYLE (since 15 July 1998) head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1977) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term |
Exports | - | $3.44 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | - | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon |
Exports - partners | - | France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $85 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $600 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 12 50 S, 45 10 E |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands |
Highways | - | total:
93 km paved: 72 km unpaved: 21 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | $141.3 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | - | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | - | France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (1997) |
Independence | - | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction |
Infant mortality rate | - | 69.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | - | FZ |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | - | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | - | NA |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | - | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population |
Legal system | - | French law |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be held 24 September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPM 1; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held as a special election on NA May 2002); results - percent of vote by party - UDF/FD 51.7%, RPR 48.3%; seats by party - UDF/FD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
59.83 years male: 57.77 years female: 61.96 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique |
Map references | Arctic Region | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island |
National holiday | - | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Mahorais (singular and plural) adjective: Mahoran |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | cyclones during rainy season |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | NEGL |
Net migration rate | - | 10.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Younoussa BAMANA]; Mahoran Rally for the Republic or RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 163,366 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 4.58% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | Dzaoudzi |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | - | Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment:
small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros and other international connections |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 9,314 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 0 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks |
Total fertility rate | - | 6.24 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 45% (1997) |
Waterways | - | none |