Guadeloupe (2006) | South Africa (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape |
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:
32.01% (male 7,023,639; female 6,928,559) 15-64 years: 63.11% (male 13,264,654; female 14,244,484) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 798,914; female 1,325,847) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
Airports | 9 (2006) | 741 (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:
142 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 47 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
599 1,524 to 2,437 m: 33 914 to 1,523 m: 304 under 914 m: 262 (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:
1,219,912 sq km land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) |
Area - comparative | 10 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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 | After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule. |
Birth rate | 15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 21.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of $112.5 million (2002) |
revenues:
$31.1 billion expenditures: $34.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY01/02) |
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) |
Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center |
Climate | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
Coastline | 306 km | 2,798 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases |
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 South Africa conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
Currency | - | rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $25.6 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Delano E. LEWIS, Sr. embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Makate Sheila SISULU chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004) | $676.3 million |
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. | South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into the 30% unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.084 billion kWh (2003) | 172.393 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 3.884 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 2.457 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.165 billion kWh (2003) | 186.903 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
92.74% hydro: 0.39% nuclear: 6.87% 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: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001) | rand per US dollar - 7.60 (March 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996) |
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 Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next scheduled for sometime between May and July 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP governing coalition |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $30.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water | gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
Exports - partners | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004) | UK, Italy, Japan, US, Germany |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which had three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags were a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
5% industry: 30% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 15 N, 61 35 W | 29 00 S, 24 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 | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
Highways | - | total:
358,596 km paved: 59,753 km (including 1927 km of expressways) unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and possibly cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials | machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments |
Imports - partners | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (2004) | Germany, US, UK, Japan |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 31 May 1910 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs |
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.) |
60.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 44 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 60 sq km (2003) | 12,700 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 191,400 (1999) | 17 million economically active (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 15%
industry: 20% services: 65% (2002) |
agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total:
4,750 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.7%
permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 67% forests and woodland: 7% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
Legal system | French legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NP 6.9%, UDM 3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34, NP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years female: 81.37 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
48.09 years male: 47.64 years female: 48.56 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: 81.8% male: 81.9% female: 81.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 271,650 GRT/268,604 DWT ships by type: container 6, petroleum tanker 2 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces |
Military branches | no regular military forces | South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2 billion (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
11,469,812 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
6,977,328 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
466,399 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
Nationality | noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
noun:
South African(s) adjective: South African |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano | prolonged droughts |
Natural resources | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
Net migration rate | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 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] | African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the New National Party or NP) [Anthony LEON, leader]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
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 | Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC |
Population | 452,776 (July 2006 est.) | 43,586,097
note: South Africa took a census October 1996 which showed a population of 40,583,611 (after an official adjustment for a 6.8% underenumeration based on a postenumeration survey); 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% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2006 est.) | 0.26% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 13.75 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
21,431 km narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% | Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist 28.5% |
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:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 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:
the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 210,000 (2001) | 5.075 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,700 (2004) | over 2,000,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
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 | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.43 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 26.9% (2003) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | NA |