Saint Martin (2007) | Canada (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 18.5% (male 3,052,005; female 2,903,007)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 11,099,907; female 10,984,903) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,774,262; female 2,393,029) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 1 | 1,389 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
total: 507
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 149 914 to 1,523 m: 245 under 914 m: 80 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 882
1,524 to 2,437 m: 73 914 to 1,523 m: 363 under 914 m: 446 (2002) |
Area | total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC | somewhat larger than 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. | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Its paramount political problem continues to be the relationship of the province of Quebec, with its French-speaking residents and unique culture, to the remainder of the country. |
Birth rate | - | 10.99 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $178.6 billion
expenditures: $161.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.) |
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 |
Ottawa |
Climate | temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north |
Coastline | 58.9 km (for entire island) | 202,080 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs |
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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
Currency | - | Canadian dollar (CAD) |
Death rate | - | 7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.9 billion $NA (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Paul CELLUCCI
embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3097 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael F. KERGIN
chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle consulate(s): Miami, Princeton, San Francisco, and San Jose |
Disputes - international | - | managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; uncontested dispute with Denmark over Hans Island sovereignty in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1999) |
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. | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. As a result of the close cross-border relationship, the economic sluggishness in the United States in 2001-02 had a negative impact on the Canadian economy. Real growth averaged nearly 3% during 1993-2000, but declined in 2001, with moderate recovery in 2002. Unemployment is up, with contraction in the manufacturing and natural resource sectors. Nevertheless, given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Two shadows loom, the first being the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas, which has been raising the specter of a split in the federation. Another long-term concern is the flow south to the US of professionals lured by higher pay, lower taxes, and the immense high-tech infrastructure. A key strength in the economy is the substantial trade surplus. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 504.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 38.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 16.11 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 566.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 28%
hydro: 57.9% nuclear: 12.9% other: 1.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.57 (2002), 1.55 (2001), 1.49 (2000), 1.49 (1999), 1.48 (1998) |
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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | - | 2.008 million bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum |
Exports - partners | - | US 87.7%, Japan 2%, UK 1.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $934.1 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.5% services: 71.2% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $29,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 05 N, 63 57 W | 60 00 N, 95 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 | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 85% of the population is concentrated within 300 km of the US border |
Heliports | - | 12 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 1.408 million km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector |
Imports | - | 1.145 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US, Mexico (2006) | US 62.6%, China 4.6%, Japan 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | 1 July 1867 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURCA, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 760 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | - | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) |
Labor force | - | 16.4 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry | services 74%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, agriculture 3%, other 3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Land use | - | arable land: 4.94%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) | English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5% |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (301 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 27 November 2000 (next to be held by 2005) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 41%, Canadian Alliance 26%, Bloc Quebecois 11%, New Democratic Party 9%, Progressive Conservative Party 12%; seats by party - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12; note - percent of vote by party as of January 2002 - Liberal Party 51%, Canadian Alliance 10%, Bloc Quebecois 10%, New Democratic Party 9%, Progressive Conservative Party 18%; seats by party - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 79.83 years
male: 76.44 years female: 83.38 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | North America |
Maritime claims | - | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,840,272 GRT/2,740,864 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 64, cargo 11, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 18, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 3, Monaco 16, United Kingdom 1, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Canadian Armed Forces (comprising Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Communications Command, Training Command) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $7.861 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (FY01/02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 8,391,120 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 7,158,016 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 16 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 216,488 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) |
Nationality | - | noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
Natural hazards | - | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains |
Natural resources | salt | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 6.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km |
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] | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Canadian Alliance [Stephen HARPER]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON]; Progressive Conservative Party [Peter MACKAY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 33,102 (October 2004 census) | 32,207,113 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.94% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 3 (2007) | AM 535, FM 53, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 49,422 km
standard gauge: 49,422 km 1.435-m gauge (129 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu | Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 36%, other 18%
note: based on the 1991 census |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal | 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 |
general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology
domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 20,802,900 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 8,751,300 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | - | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.61 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 7.6% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,000 km (including Saint Lawrence Seaway) |