Martinique (2005) | Lithuania (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 49,112/female 47,697)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 145,531/female 145,250) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 20,423/female 24,887) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.5% (male 284,888/female 270,458)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 1,210,557/female 1,265,542) 65 years and over: 15.5% (male 190,496/female 363,965) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 2 (2004 est.) | 91 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 34
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 57
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 53 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $8.429 billion
expenditures: $9.103 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | name: Vilnius
geographic coordinates: 54 41 N, 25 19 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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 | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
Coastline | 350 km | 90 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | adopted 25 October 1992 |
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: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $11.7 billion (2 February 2006) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador John A. CLOUD
embassy: Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius, LT-03106 mailing address: American Embassy, Almeny gatve 6, Vilnius LT-03106 telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500 FAX: [370] (5) 266 5510 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Kornelija JURGAITIENE
chancery: 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | none | Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons |
Economic aid - recipient | NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) | $1.6 billion in committed EU structural 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, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment dropped from 11% in 2003 to about 8% in 2005. Growing domestic consumption and increased investment have furthered recovery. Trade has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and joined the EU in May 2004. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, is nearing completion. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.095 billion kWh (2002) | 12.079 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 11.7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4.144 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.178 billion kWh (2002) | 19 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines Kalnas 293.6 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | Lithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other or unspecified 3.6% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | litai per US dollar - 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004), 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
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: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Gediminas KIRKILAS (since 4 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 13 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8%; Gediminas KIRKILAS approved by Parliament 85-13, with 5 abstentions |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) | mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) | Russia 10.4%, Latvia 10.2%, Germany 9.4%, France 7%, Estonia 5.9%, Poland 5.5%, Sweden 5%, US 4.7%, UK 4.7%, Denmark 4.3% (2005) |
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 yellow (top), green, and red |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 32.5% services: 62% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 56 00 N, 24 00 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 | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
Highways | total: 2,105 km (2000) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.9% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy; susceptible to money laundering despite changes to banking legislation |
Imports | NA | 93,000 bbl/day bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | mineral products, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) | Russia 27.9%, Germany 15.2%, Poland 8.3% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.3% (2005 est.) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber jewelry |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 6.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 2.7% (2005) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 70 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
Labor force | 165,900 (1998) | 1.61 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | agriculture: 15.8%
industry: 28.2% services: 56% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,613 km
border countries: Belarus 653.5 km, Latvia 588 km, Poland 103.7 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 267.8 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.38%
permanent crops: 9.43% other: 80.19% (2001) |
arable land: 44.81%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 54.29% (2005) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) |
Legal system | French legal system | based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
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 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) 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 (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 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 not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 28.6%, Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, TS 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Farmers and New Democracy Union 6.6%, other 9%; seats by faction - Labor 29, Homeland Union 26, Social Democrats 23, Civil Democracy (split from Labor) 11, Liberal Movement (formerly Liberal Political Group) 11, National Farmer's Union (formerly Farmers and New Democracy Union) 11, Social Liberal 10, Liberal Democrats 9, Liberal and Center Political Group 8, independents 3 (as of late-July 2006) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.04 years
male: 79.43 years female: 78.64 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 74.2 years
male: 69.2 years female: 79.49 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 49 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,094 GRT/352,883 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 14, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Denmark 10) registered in other countries: 17 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Belize 1, North Korea 1, Norway 1, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, unknown 3) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie | Ground Forces, Naval Force, Lithuanian Military Air Forces, National Defense Volunteer Forces (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $230.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.9% (FY01) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
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 | peat, arable land, amber |
Net migration rate | -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,696 km; oil 228 km; refined products 121 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; 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] | Civil Democracy Party [Viktor MUNTIANAS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; National Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman]; Labor Party; Liberal and Center Political Group [Arturas ZUOKAS, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party [Valentinas MAZURONIS, chairman]; Liberal Movement; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS, chairman]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS, chairman]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists |
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 | 432,900 (July 2005 est.) | 3,585,906 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | Less than $2.15 per day (PPP): 4% |
Population growth rate | 0.76% (2005 est.) | -0.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite, Marin | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 1,771 km
broad gauge: 1,749 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) | Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access
domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications international: country code - 370; landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | 172,000 est (2001) | 801,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 319,900 (2002) | 4.353 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 8.2% (2005) |
Waterways | - | 425 km (2005) |