Compare Saint Martin (2007) - Indian Ocean (2003)

Compare Saint Martin (2007) z Indian Ocean (2003)

	Saint Martin (2007)	Indian Ocean (2003)

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: 68.556 million sq km note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	more than one-third the size of Washington, DC	about 5.5 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 Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
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	northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean
Coastline	58.9 km (for entire island)	66,526 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 Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m	lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 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 dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red 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	20 00 S, 80 00 E
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 Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait
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, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
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	-	occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches
Natural resources	salt	oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
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)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa)
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 dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge
Transportation - note	nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten	-

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