New Zealand (2007) | Martinique (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 regions and 1 territory*; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands*, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 437,547/female 417,698)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 1,393,057/female 1,378,358) 65 years and over: 11.9% (male 214,189/female 274,922) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.1% (male 48,988/female 47,525)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 147,082/female 146,470) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 20,791/female 25,275) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, lamb and mutton, dairy products; fish | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 121 (2007) | 2 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 41
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 80
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 46 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 268,680 sq km
land: 268,021 sq km water: NA note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. | The French began to settle this island in 1635, overcoming resistance from the local Carib inhabitants. In 1660, the suviving natives were rounded up and permanently expelled. The island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 13.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $45.04 billion
expenditures: $40.98 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $317.5 million
expenditures: $317.5 million; including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | name: Wellington
geographic coordinates: 41 28 S, 174 51 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends third Sunday in March note: New Zealand is divided into two time zones, including Chatham Island |
name: Fort-de-France
geographic coordinates: 14 36 N, 61 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with sharp regional contrasts | 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 |
Coastline | 15,134 km | 350 km |
Constitution | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments, as well as The Constitution Act 1986, which is the principal formal charter; adopted 1 January 1987, effective 1 January 1987 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Death rate | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $45.81 billion (2006 est.) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Dependent areas | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William P. McCORMICK
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy N. FERGUSON
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, NA (2006 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
Economy - overview | Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita income has risen for eight consecutive years and reached $26,000 in 2006 in purchasing power parity terms. Consumer and government spending have driven growth in recent years, and exports picked up in 2006 after struggling for several years. Exports are equal to about 24% of GDP, down from 33 percent of GDP in 2001. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and the Labor Government promises that expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately to output. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 38.55 billion kWh (2005) | 1.12 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 41.59 billion kWh (2005) | 1.205 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by invasive species | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation |
- |
Ethnic groups | European 69.8%, Maori 7.9%, Asian 5.7%, Pacific islander 4.4%, other 0.5%, mixed 7.8%, unspecified 3.8% (2001 census) | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian and Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation 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 a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 for six-year terms |
Exports | 15,720 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples |
Exports - partners | Australia 20.5%, US 13.1%, Japan 10.3%, China 5.4%, UK 4.9% (2006) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March
note: this is the fiscal year for tax purposes |
calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation | unofficial flag, derives from the civil ensign flown by French merchant ships and dates to 1766; a blue field quartered by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white, coiled snake representing the venomous Fer-de-lance; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.3%
industry: 26.9% services: 68.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 S, 174 00 E | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world | 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 |
Government - note | while not an official symbol, the Kiwi, a small native flightless bird, represents New Zealand | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA (1991 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | significant consumer of amphetamines | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | 140,900 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 20.5%, China 12.3%, US 11.8%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 4.4%, Singapore 4.4% (2006) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2004) |
Independence | 26 September 1907 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.2% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 6.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2006 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 2,850 sq km (2003) | 70 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note - judges appointed by the Governor-General | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 2.199 million (2006 est.) | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 25% services: 65% (1995) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 17% services: 73% (1997) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 87.54% (2005) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 10% other: 80.91% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language (official) | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | French legal system |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 17 September 2005 (next to be held not later than 15 November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NZLP 41.1%, NP 39.1%, NZFP 5.7%, Green Party 5.3%, Maori 2.1%, UF 2.7%, ACT New Zealand 1.5%, Progressive 1.2%, other 1.3%; seats by party - NZLP 50, NP 48, NZFP 7, Green Party 6, Maori 4, UF 3, ACT New Zealand 2, Progressive 1 note: results of 2005 election saw the total number of seats increase to 121 because the Maori Party won one more electorate seat than its entitlement under the party vote |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2000 (next to be held in 2006); Regional Council - 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 Council (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 September 2004 (next to be held September 2008); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 1, left-wing candidate 1; 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, PMS 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) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.96 years
male: 75.97 years female: 82.08 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.18 years
male: 79.5 years female: 78.85 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 108,667 GRT/89,458 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Germany 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Cook Islands 1, Dominica 3, France 1, UK 1) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2006) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | 3.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 224 km; gas 1,693 km; liquid petroleum gas 45 km; oil 280 km; refined products 288 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | ACT New Zealand [Rodney HIDE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS]; Maori Party [Whatarangi WINIATA]; National Party or NP [John KEY]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Party [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 | 4,115,771 (July 2007 est.) | 436,131 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.95% (2007 est.) | 0.72% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 4,128 km
narrow gauge: 4,128 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2006) |
- |
Religions | Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist 2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other 3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.779 male(s)/female total population: 0.987 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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 (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 1 InMarSat (Pacific Ocean), 7 other |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.729 million (2005) | 172,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.53 million (2005) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 41 (plus about 700 repeaters) (1997) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% (2006 est.) | 27.2% (1998) |