Martinique (2001) | Jordan (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba |
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: 35.9% (male 1,001,174; female 959,157)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,764,061; female 1,541,453) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 95,566; female 98,854) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 17 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel. King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and established his domestic priorities, including an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in January 2000, and signed free trade agreements with the United States in 2000, and with the European Free Trade Association in 2001. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.68 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $2.7 billion
expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $614 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | 'Amman |
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 | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 350 km | 26 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 8 January 1952 |
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: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $8.2 billion (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Edward William GNEHM, Jr.
embassy: Abdoun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101 FAX: [962] (6) 5920121 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Karim Tawfiq KAWAR
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | ODA, $553 million (2000 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. | Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH since assuming the throne in 1999 has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Amman in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made significant headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTrO (2000), a free trade accord with US (2000), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. The US-led war in Iraq in 2003 dealt an economic blow to Jordan, which was dependent on Iraq for discounted oil. It remains unclear how Jordan will finance energy imports in the absence of such a deal. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit and broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 6.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 267 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 7.091 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 99.4%
hydro: 0.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
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) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.71 (2002), 0.71 (2001), 0.71 (2000), 0.71 (1999), 0.71 (1998) |
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: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980)
head of government: Prime Minister Faisal al-FAYEZ (since 25 October 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures, pharmaceuticals |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | Iraq 20.1%, US 14.5%, India 8.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.4%, Israel 4.4% (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 black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22.63 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 26% services: 70.3% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank |
Heliports | - | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 7,245 km
paved: 7,245 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | Iraq 13.4%, Germany 8.8%, US 8%, China 6%, France 4.2%, UK 4.1%, Italy 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 1.36 million (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | services 82.5%, industry 12.5%, agriculture 5% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.87%
permanent crops: 1.52% other: 95.61% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
Legal system | French legal system | based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) (40 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003, next to be held NA 2007 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and others 89.6%, Islamic Action Front 10.4%; seats by party - independents and others 92, Islamic Action Front 18 (note - one of the six quota seats was given to a female IAF candidate) note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989, the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held; political parties were not legalized until 1992; King Abdallah delayed the 2001 elections until 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.88 years
male: 75.42 years female: 80.5 years (2003 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: 91.3% male: 95.9% female: 86.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 63,522 GRT/79,776 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 6 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) (Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Special Operations Command or SOCOM); note - Public Security Directorate normally falls under Ministry of Interior but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $757.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 8.6% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,577,136 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,113,787 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 58,840 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2003) |
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] | Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general]; Constitutional Front [Mahdi al-TALL, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id DHIYAB, secretary general]; Jordanian Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general]; Jordanian People's Democratic (Hashd) Party [Salim al-NAHHAS, secretary general]; Islamic Action Front [Hazma MANSOUR, secretary general]; National Action (Haqq) Party [Muhammad al-ZUBI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysif al-HIMSI, secretary general]; Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general] |
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] | Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordanian Bar Association [Saleh ARMOUTI, president]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general] |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 5,460,265 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 2.78% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Al 'Aqabah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 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: service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public
domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 403,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 11,500 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |