Guadeloupe (2006) | Vietnam (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai |
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:
32.13% (male 13,266,585; female 12,415,384) 15-64 years: 62.44% (male 24,357,343; female 25,556,187) 65 years and over: 5.43% (male 1,722,094; female 2,621,421) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 9 (2006) | 34 (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:
17 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
17 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 8 (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:
329,560 sq km land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | 10 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
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 | France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market. |
Birth rate | 15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 21.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of $112.5 million (2002) |
revenues:
$5.3 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 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) |
Hanoi |
Climate | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) |
Coastline | 306 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 15 April 1992 |
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:
Socialist Republic of Vietnam conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | - | dong (VND) |
Death rate | 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $13.2 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Douglas B. "Pete" PETERSON embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 8431500 FAX: [84] (4) 8351510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Nguyen Tam CHIEN chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with China in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with China was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004) | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
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. | Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems existing in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market oriented economy leads to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth continued at the moderately strong level of 5.5%, a level that should be matched in 2001. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers; this problem apparently eased in 2000. Foreign direct investment fell dramatically, from $8.3 billion in 1996 to about $1.6 billion in 1999. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved slowly in implementing the structural reforms needed to revitalize the economy and produce more competitive, export-driven industries. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.084 billion kWh (2003) | 21.376 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.165 billion kWh (2003) | 22.985 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
47.71% hydro: 52.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,484 m |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001) | dong per US dollar - 14,530 (January 2001), 14,020 (January 2000), 13,900 (December 1998), 11,100 (December 1996), 11,193 (1995 average), 11,000 (October 1994) |
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 Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $14.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004) | China, Japan, Germany, Australia, US, France, Singapore, UK, Taiwan |
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 | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $154.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 35% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,950 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 15 N, 61 35 W | 16 00 N, 106 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 | - |
Highways | - | total:
93,300 km paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 29% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | - | minor producer of opium poppy with 2,100 hectares cultivated in 1999, capable of producing 11 metric tons of opium; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $15.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (2004) | Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, US, Sweden |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10.7% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism | food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
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.) |
30.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 60 sq km (2003) | 18,600 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | 191,400 (1999) | 38.2 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 15%
industry: 20% services: 65% (2002) |
agriculture 67%, industry and services 33% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total:
4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.7%
permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 30% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | French legal system | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system |
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 Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (450 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 450 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years female: 81.37 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
69.56 years male: 67.12 years female: 72.19 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: 93.7% male: 96.5% female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 705,388 GRT/1,071,902 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 108, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces | People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
21,704,588 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
13,673,438 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
961,124 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
noun:
Vietnamese (singular and plural) adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding |
Natural resources | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 150 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] | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Le Kha PHIEU, general secretary] |
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 | none |
Population | 452,776 (July 2006 est.) | 79,939,014 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2006 est.) | 1.45% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Radios | - | 8.2 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,652 km standard gauge: 166 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,249 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 237 km NA-m gauges (three rails) (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
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:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 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:
Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 210,000 (2001) | 2.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,700 (2004) | 730,155 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
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 | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.49 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 26.9% (2003) | 25% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |