Compare Saint Martin (2007) - Atlantic Ocean (2008)

Compare Saint Martin (2007) z Atlantic Ocean (2008)

	Saint Martin (2007)	Atlantic Ocean (2008)

Airports	1	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1	-
Area	total: 54.4 sq km land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL	total: 76.762 million sq km note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	more than one-third the size of Washington, DC	slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US
Background	Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished St. Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of St. Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity.	The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.
Capital	name: Marigot geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour	-
Climate	temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season	tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November
Coastline	58.9 km (for entire island)	111,866 km
Constitution	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)	-
Country name	conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin conventional short form: Saint Martin local long form: Collectivity d'outre mer de Saint-Martin local short form: Saint-Martin	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas collectivity of France)	-
Disputes - international	-	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Economy - overview	The economy of Saint Martin centers around tourism with 85% of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. No significant agriculture and limited local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported, primarily from Mexico and the United States. Saint Martin is reported to have the highest per capita income in the Caribbean.	The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m	lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water	endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
Ethnic groups	creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian	-
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (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 Louis-Constant FLEMING (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council election: French president elected by popular vote to 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: Louis-Constant FLEMING unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007	-
Flag description	the flag of France is used	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (2000)	-
Geographic coordinates	18 05 N, 63 57 W	0 00 N, 25 00 W
Geography - note	the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten	major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
Imports - commodities	crude petroleum, food, manufactured items	-
Imports - partners	US, Mexico (2006)	-
Independence	none (overseas collectivity of France)	-
Industries	tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry	-
International organization participation	UPU	-
Labor force - by occupation	85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry	-
Land boundaries	total: 15 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km	-
Languages	French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)	-
Legal system	the laws of France, where applicable, apply	-
Legislative branch	unicameral Territorial Council (23 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 seats by party - UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party - UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1	-
Location	island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico	body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Political Map of the World
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of France	-
National holiday	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848)	-
Natural hazards	-	icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)
Natural resources	salt	oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
Political parties and leaders	Union Pour le Progres or UPP [Louis Constant FLEMING]; Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON]; Reussir Saint-Martin [Jean-Luc HAMLET]	-
Population	33,102 (October 2004 census)	-
Radio broadcast stations	FM 3 (2007)	-
Religions	Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu	-
Suffrage	18 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 Gudaloupe	-
Terrain	-	surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin
Transportation - note	nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten	Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US

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