British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Martinique (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
23.1% (male 49,016; female 47,653) 15-64 years: 66.77% (male 139,106; female 140,291) 65 years and over: 10.13% (male 18,893; female 23,495) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | - | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | - | Fort-de-France |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 698 km | 350 km |
Constitution | - | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form:
Department of Martinique conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | - | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | - | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | - | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA) head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) 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 Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | - | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | - | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples |
Exports - partners | - | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | - |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | - | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | - | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | - | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) |
Independence | - | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.9% (1990) |
International organization participation | - | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | - | 170,000 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | French legal system |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 15 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR-UDF 14, MIM 13, PPM 7, left parties 4, PMS 3 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1998 (next to be held September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | - | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie |
National holiday | - | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | NA | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | - | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF (replaced by Martinique Forces of Progress) [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Association for the Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist) [Garcin MALSA]; Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES] |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
418,454 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.93% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Fort-de-France, La Trinite |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | 82,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment:
domestic facilities are adequate domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 170,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 15,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | none | none |