Martinique (2002) | Grenada (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23% (male 49,261; female 47,843)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 140,616; female 141,460) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 19,274; female 23,823) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.5% (male 15,580; female 15,212)
15-64 years: 62% (male 29,321; female 26,104) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 1,467; female 1,673) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 3 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 15.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 22.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) (1996) |
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | Saint George's |
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; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 350 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 19 December 1973 |
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: Grenada |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.31 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) (1994) | $196 million (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | $8.3 million (1995) |
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, which employs more than 11,000 people, 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. | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.046 billion kWh (2000) | 128.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.125 billion kWh (2000) | 138 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
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% | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Michel CADOT (since 21 June 2000)
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 five-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 Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (1997) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | US 14.9%, Germany 12.8%, Netherlands 8.5%, Saint Lucia 8.5%, Antigua and Barbuda 6.4%, UK 6.4%, Belgium 4.3%, Dominica 4.3%, France 4.3%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.3% (2003) |
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 | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
Geography - note | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Highways | total: 2,105 km (2000)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
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 | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | $2 billion c.i.f. (1997) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | US 30%, Trinidad and Tobago 26.8%, UK 5.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 7.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) (1990) | 2.8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) (1997) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) (1997) | agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32% other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | French legal system | based on English common law |
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 - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; 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 2001 (next to be held September 2004); 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, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PMS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.56 years
male: 79.19 years female: 77.92 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2004 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: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -13.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Pierre SUEDILLE]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; note - may no longer be in existence; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 422,277 (July 2002 est.) | 89,357 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 32% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.89% (2002 est.) | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2004 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: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 33,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 7,600 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) (1998) | 12.5% (2000) |
Waterways | none | - |