Guadeloupe (2006) | Congo, Republic of the (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.6% (male 54,725/female 52,348)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 150,934/female 153,094) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 17,353/female 24,322) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633) 15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125) 65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 9 (2006) | 33 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin) |
total:
342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | 10 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
Birth rate | 15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of $112.5 million (2002) |
revenues:
$870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | name: Basse-Terre
geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 61 44 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Brazzaville |
Climate | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 306 km | 169 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5 billion (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 41036 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | none | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004) | $159.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | This Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.084 billion kWh (2003) | 406.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 126 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.165 billion kWh (2003) | 302 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0.66% hydro: 99.34% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,484 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Jacques BROT (since 12 June 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-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 election results: NA |
chief of state:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water | petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004) | US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag based upon the arms of the city of Pointe-a-Pitre; the field is divided horizontally with a narrow, blue stripe along the top edge charged with three gold fleurs-de-lis; the wider, lower portion of the field is black and charged with green sugar cane leaves - representing one of Guadeloupe's main crops - surmounted by a gold radiant sun representing the tropical climate; the only official flag is the national flag of France | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 48% services: 42% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 15 N, 61 35 W | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Highways | - | total:
12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (2004) | France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism | petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 60 sq km (2003) | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 191,400 (1999) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 15%
industry: 20% services: 65% (2002) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total:
5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.7%
permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 62% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
Legal system | French legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held by in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008 to elect half of the body) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1 |
unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament
elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years female: 81.37 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
47.57 years male: 44.38 years female: 50.85 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea:
200 NM |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $110 million (FY93) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.8% (FY93) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
32,350 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 25 km |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Jules OTTO]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Claudine LACAVE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR) [Gabrielle LOUIS-CARABIN] | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 452,776 (July 2006 est.) | 2,894,336
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2006 est.) | 2.2% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 341,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
general assessment:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 210,000 (2001) | 22,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,700 (2004) | 1,000 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 26.9% (2003) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |