Martinique (2002) | Netherlands Antilles (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
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:
25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169) 15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | more than five times 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. | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe. |
Birth rate | 15.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) (1996) |
revenues:
$710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | Willemstad |
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; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 350 km | 364 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
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: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
Death rate | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) (1994) | $1.35 billion (1996) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million |
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. | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined slightly in each of the past five years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.046 billion kWh (2000) | 1.032 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.125 billion kWh (2000) | 1.11 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian |
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) | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989) |
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 BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA) note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP |
Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (1997) | $276 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | petroleum products |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998) |
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 | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 12 15 N, 68 45 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 | - |
Highways | total: 2,105 km (2000)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992) |
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 | money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | $2 billion c.i.f. (1997) | $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
Infant mortality rate | 7.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) (1990) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 6 |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) (1997) | 89,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) (1997) | agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32% other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish |
Legal system | French legal system | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
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 |
unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.56 years
male: 79.19 years female: 77.92 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
74.94 years male: 72.76 years female: 77.22 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: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,113,774 GRT/1,397,841 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 35, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 19, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 8, Germany 1, Italy 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Police Force |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
54,284 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
30,405 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,610 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April |
Nationality | noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
noun:
Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi]; Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT]
note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
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.) | 212,226 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.89% (2002 est.) | 0.97% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | 217,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 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:
generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 76,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 13,977 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) (1998) | 14.9% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |