Martinique (2001) | Slovakia (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
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: 17.1% (male 475,263/female 453,340)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,919,222/female 1,939,097) 65 years and over: 11.9% (male 241,610/female 402,831) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 34 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $15.44 billion
expenditures: $16.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | Bratislava |
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 | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 350 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | ratified 1 September 1992, effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
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: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $19.54 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Scott N. THAYER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Rastislav KACER
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | none | Hungary amended its status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to which Slovakia had protested; consultations continue between Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | $2.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
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. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-04, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003-04, remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 28.89 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 6 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 31.15 billion kWh (2003) |
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: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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% | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
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) | koruny per US dollar - 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001), 46.035 (2000) |
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 Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Ivan MIKLOS (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pal CSAKY (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3 April and 17 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Ivan GASPAROVIC elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 59.9%, Vladimir MECIAR 40.1%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002 note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | NA |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4%% (2004 est.) |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | Germany 34.4%, Czech Republic 14.7%, Austria 8.2%, Italy 5.8%, Poland 5.3%, US 4.5%, Hungary 4.3% (2004) |
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 white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 30.1% services: 66.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 42,970 km
paved: 37,698 km (including 302 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,272 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003) |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | Germany 26.1%, Czech Republic 21.3%, Russia 9.1%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.9% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 7.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 2.2 million (3rd quarter, 2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 30.16%
permanent crops: 2.62% other: 67.22% (2001) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) |
Legal system | French legal system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
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 National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, Smer 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 69 (SDKU 22, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 12), opposition 81 (HZDS 26, Smer 25, KSS 9, Free Forum 6, People's Union 5, and independents 10) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.5 years
male: 70.52 years female: 78.68 years (2005 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: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 41,891 GRT/63,185 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 18 (Bulgaria 8, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Syria 1, Turkey 6, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Army of the Slovak Republic (Armady Slovenskej Republika): Land Command, Air Forces (Vozdushne Sily), Training and Support Command, Logistics Command (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $406 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.89% (2002) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | NA |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004) |
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 Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; People's Union or LU [Gustav KRAJCI]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Peter SULOVSKY] |
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] | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 5,431,363 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 0.15% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,662 km
broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km electrified) narrow gauge: 50 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: country code - 421; three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 1,294,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 3,678,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.32 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 13.1% (31 December 2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 172 km (on Danube River) (2004) |