Martinique (2002) | Spratly Islands (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | - |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | - |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 3 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | NA |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. |
Birth rate | 15.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) (1996) |
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Capital | Fort-de-France | - |
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 |
Coastline | 350 km | 926 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | - |
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: Spratly Islands |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | - |
Death rate | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) (1994) | - |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | - |
Disputes - international | none | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands |
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, 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. | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.046 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.125 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | - |
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) | - |
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 |
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Exports | $250 million f.o.b. (1997) | - |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | - |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | - |
Fiscal 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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 8 38 N, 111 55 E |
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 | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs |
Heliports | - | 3 (2007) |
Highways | total: 2,105 km (2000)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $2 billion c.i.f. (1997) | - |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | - |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | - |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | - |
Infant mortality rate | 7.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) (1990) | - |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | - |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) (1997) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) (1997) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32% other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | - |
Legal system | French legal system | - |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.56 years
male: 79.19 years female: 77.92 years (2002 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
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Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | - |
Nationality | noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
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Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] | - |
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 | - |
Population | 422,277 (July 2002 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.89% (2002 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | - |
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.) |
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Suffrage | 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) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2002 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) (1998) | - |
Waterways | none | - |