Martinique (2001) | Greenland (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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: 24% (male 6,926/female 6,597)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 20,901/female 18,012) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,873/female 2,035) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 14 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973, but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.01 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $1.36 billion
expenditures: $1.27 billion (2005) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 45 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Greenland is divided into four time zones |
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 | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 350 km | 44,087 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
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: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $25 million (1999) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Disputes - international | none | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | $512 million; note - subsidy from Denmark (2005) |
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. | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities are ongoing. Press reports in early 2007 indicated that two international aluminum companies were considering building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of local hydropower potential. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland began summer-season direct flights to the U.S. east coast in May 2007, potentially opening a major new tourism market. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 279 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) |
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) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003) |
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: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election results: Hans ENOKSEN reelected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | 149.1 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | Denmark 67.1%, Japan 12.1%, China 5.6% (2006) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 72 00 N, 40 00 W |
Geography - note | - | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | 4,013 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | Denmark 69.9%, Sweden 16.3%, Norway 3.7% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 32,120 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Legal system | French legal system | the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply |
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 Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 13 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.23 years
male: 66.65 years female: 73.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,422 GRT/2,340 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Denmark 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of Denmark |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | June 21 (longest day) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Finn KARLSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark); Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood) [Josef MOTZFELDT] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule); Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform); Siumut (Forward Party) [Hans ENOKSEN] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) |
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] | NA |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 56,344 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | -0.03% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Evangelical Lutheran |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.115 male(s)/female (2007 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: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 25,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 32,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus some local low-power stations, and 3 Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) stations (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 9.3% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |