Martinique (2001) | El Salvador (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan |
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.) |
0-14 years: 37.1% (male 1,224,024; female 1,173,667)
15-64 years: 57.9% (male 1,777,522; female 1,966,064) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 147,482; female 181,620) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 82 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 78
914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 61 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.9 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | San Salvador |
Climate | 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 | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands |
Coastline | 350 km | 307 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 23 December 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Department of Martinique conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $5.6 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-6011 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez
chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 FAX: [1] (202) 234-3834 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but they remain largely undemarcated; in 2002, El Salvador filed an application to the ICJ to revise the decision on a section of bolsones; the ICJ also advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | In recent years, this Central American economy has been suffering from a weak tax collection system, factory closings, the aftermaths of Hurricane Mitch of 1998 and the devastating earthquakes of early 2001, and weak world coffee prices. On the bright side, inflation has fallen to single digit levels, and total exports have grown substantially. The trade deficit has been offset by annual remittances of almost $2 billion from Salvadorans living abroad and by external aid. The US dollar is now the legal tender. Because competitor countries have fluctuating exchange rates, El Salvador must face the challenge of raising productivity and lowering costs. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 3.777 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 44 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 353 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 3.729 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 44%
hydro: 30.9% nuclear: 0% other: 25.1% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% |
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) | 8.75 the US dollar is the legal tender |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: Francisco FLORES Perez elected president; percent of vote - Francisco FLORES (ARENA) 52%, Facundo GUARDADO (FMLN) 29%, Ruben ZAMORA (CD) 7.5%, other (no individual above 3%) 11.5% |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | US 63.3%, Guatemala 12%, Honduras 6.8%, Nicaragua 4.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29.41 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 13 50 N, 88 55 W |
Geography - note | - | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.3% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | US 39%, Guatemala 10.1%, Mexico 7.2%, France 4% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2002 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 26.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 3.8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 360 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 2.35 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 27.27%
permanent crops: 12.11% other: 60.62% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Legal system | French legal system | based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FMLN 31, ARENA 27, PCN 16, PDC 5, CD 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.62 years
male: 67.02 years female: 74.4 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 80.2% male: 82.8% female: 77.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $112 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.7% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,536,230 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 973,884 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 69,534 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general] (includes Social Democratic Party or PSD [Juan MEDRANO, leader); Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Fabio CASTILLO]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Kirio Waldo SALGADO, president]; National Action Party or PAN [Gustavo Rogelio SALINAS, secretary general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Walter ARAUJO]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president] |
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] | labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 6,470,379 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 48% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 1.81% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 283 km
narrow gauge: 283 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of operational route reduced from 562 km to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Roman Catholic 83%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador |
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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 380,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 40,163 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 10% - but the economy has much underemployment. (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | Rio Lempa partially navigable |