Martinique (2001) | Tokelau (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 350 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
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: Tokelau |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | - |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | Polynesian |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (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 ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | $0 |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | New Zealand (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
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% | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | - | consists of three atolls (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level |
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% |
- |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | New Zealand (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | NA% |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 440 (2001) |
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% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | French legal system | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
NA |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
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] | none |
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] | none |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 1,449 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | -0.018% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |