Saint Barthelemy (2008) | Nicaragua (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
Airports | 1 | 163 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 152
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007) |
Area | 21 sq km | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | less than an eighth of the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | Discovered in 1493 by Christopher COLUMBUS who named it for his brother Bartolomeo, St. Barthelemy was first settled by the French in 1648. In 1784, the French sold the island to Sweden, who renamed the largest town Gustavia, after the Swedish King GUSTAV III, and made it a free port; the island prospered as a trade and supply center during the colonial wars of the 18th century. France repurchased the island in 1878 and placed it under the administration of Guadeloupe. St. Barthelemy retained its free port status along with various Swedish appelations such as Swedish street and town names, and the three-crown symbol on the coat of arms. In 2003, the populace of the island voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the island became a French overseas collectivity. | The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. |
Birth rate | - | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Gustavia
geographic coordinates: 17 53 N, 62 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour, starts 20 March and ends 17 October |
name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid) | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | - | 910 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Barthelemy
conventional short form: Saint Barthelemy local long form: Collectivite d'outre mer de Saint-Barthelemy local short form: Saint-Barthelemy |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Death rate | - | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas collectivity of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr.
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | - | memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $471 million (2006 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Saint Barthelemy is based upon high-end tourism and duty-free luxury commerce, serving visitors primarily from North America. The luxury hotels and villas host 70,000 visitors each year with another 130,000 arriving by boat. The relative isolation and high cost of living inhibits mass tourism. The construction and public sectors also enjoy significant investment in support of tourism. With limited fresh water resources, all food must be imported, as must all energy resources and most manufactured goods. Employment is strong and attracts labor from Brazil and Portugal. | Nicaragua has widespread underemployment and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in November 2006 obtained over $800 million in debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. Energy shortages, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | - | 8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 69.34 million kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | - | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne du Vitet 286 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | with no natural rivers or streams, fresh water is in short supply, especially in summer, and provided by desalinization of sea water, collection of rain water, or imported via water tanker | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | white, Creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007)
head of government: President of the Territorial Council Bruno MAGRAS (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory, economic, social, and cultural council 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; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Bruno MAGRAS unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007 |
chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44% |
Exports | - | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | - | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | - | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 90 N, 62 85 W | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | - | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | - | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | - | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
Industries | - | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 9.1% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | - | 610 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | - | 2.204 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
Languages | French (primary), English | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Council (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - SBA 72.2%, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 9.9%, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 7.9%, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 9.9%; seats by party - SBA 16, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 1, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 1, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | located approximately 125 miles northwest of Guadeloupe | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.6% (2006) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is St. Barthelemy Day, 24 August | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | - | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | - | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | has few natural resouces, its beaches being the most important | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | - | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Action-Equilibre-Transparence [Maxime DESOUCHES]; Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy [Benoit CHAUVIN]; Saint-Barth d'Abord! or SBA [Bruno MAGRAS]; Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy [Karine MIOT-RICHARD] | Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 6,852 (1999 March census) | 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 48% (2005) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.855% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah's Witness | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully integrated access
domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe |
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 247,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1.83 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles) | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) |