Martinique (2001) | Portugal (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
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:
16.96% (male 877,379; female 830,242) 15-64 years: 67.42% (male 3,321,473; female 3,465,481) 65 years and over: 15.62% (male 637,207; female 934,471) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 66 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
40 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
26 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total:
92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
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. | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC in 1985. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.51 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues:
$48.6 billion expenditures: $50.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.7 billion (2000 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | Lisbon |
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 | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 350 km | 1,793 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 |
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:
Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | Portuguese escudo (PTE); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Portugal at a fixed rate of 200.482 Portuguese escudos per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $13.1 billion (1997 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Gerald S. MCGOWAN embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joao Alberto Bacelar ROCHA PARIS chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | - |
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. | Portugal is an upcoming capitalist economy with a per capita GDP two-thirds that of the four big West European economies. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and joined with 10 other European countries in launching the euro on 1 January 1999. The year 2000 was marked by moderation in growth, inflation, and unemployment. The country continues to run a sizable trade deficit. The government is working to reform the tax system, to modernize capital plant, and to increase the country's competitiveness in the increasingly integrated world markets. Growth is expected to fall off slightly in 2001. Improvement in the education sector is critical to the long-run catch-up process. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 37.915 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.49 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3.628 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 41.696 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
79.97% hydro: 17.25% nuclear: 0% other: 2.78% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000 |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997), 154.24 (1996) |
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 Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliviera GUTERRES (since 28 October 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO re-elected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1% |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | $26.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | EU 83% (Germany 20%, Spain 18%, France 14%, UK 12%, Netherlands 5%, Benelux 5%, Italy), US 5% (1999) |
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 vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $159 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 36% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | - | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
68,732 km paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.1% highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | $41 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | EU 78% (Spain 25%, Germany 15%, France 11%, Italy 8%, UK 7%, Netherlands 5%), US 3%, Japan 3% (1998) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.9% (1999 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 5.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 6,300 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 5 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,214 km border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
26% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 36% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Portuguese |
Legal system | French legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; 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 Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 October 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 115, PSD 81, PCP 15, PP 15, PEV 2, The Left Bloc 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
75.94 years male: 72.44 years female: 79.68 years (2001 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: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 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 | none (2000 est.) | total:
158 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,053,586 GRT/1,611,238 DWT ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 84, chemical tanker 16, container 10, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Spain 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2.458 billion (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,530,466 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,030,759 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
71,404 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun:
Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydro power |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km; natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built |
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] | The Greens or PEV [leader NA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/United Democratic Coalition or PCP/CDU [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Antonio GUTERRES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [leader vacant]; The Left Bloc [no leader] |
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.) | 10,066,253 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 0.18% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
2,850 km broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double track) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) |
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:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 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:
undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53% domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 5.3 million (end 1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 3,074,194 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 4.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |