Saint Martin (2007) | Spain (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 19 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note: three small Spanish possessions are located off the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 14.5% (male 2,993,747; female 2,812,498)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 13,699,383; female 13,592,717) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 2,922,452; female 4,056,303) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 1 | 133 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
total: 93
over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 59
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 43 (2002) |
Area | total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
total: 504,782 sq km
land: 499,542 sq km water: 5,240 sq km note: there are 19 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
Area - comparative | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of Oregon |
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. | Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing concerns are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment. |
Birth rate | - | 9.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $105 billion
expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2000 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 |
Madrid |
Climate | temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season | temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast |
Coastline | 58.9 km (for entire island) | 4,964 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978 |
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: Kingdom of Spain
conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana |
Currency | - | euro (EUR); Spanish peseta (ESP)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions with the member countries |
Death rate | - | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $90 billion (1993 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador George L. ARGYROS
embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ
chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | - | Spain and UK are discussing "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have largely expressed opposition to any form of cession to Spain; Spain controls the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to explore undersea resources and to interdict illegal refugees from Africa |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.33 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. | Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.3%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. A general strike in mid-2002 reduced cooperation between labor and government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 201.16 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 7.832 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 12.166 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 211.64 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 57%
hydro: 12% nuclear: 28% other: 3% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water | pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification |
Ethnic groups | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997) |
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: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968
head of government: President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President (and Minister of Interior) Mariano RAJOY (since 27 April 2000) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government elections: the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president election results: Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44.54%; note - the Popular Party (PP) obtained an absolute majority of seats in both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate as a result of the March 2000 elections |
Exports | - | $122.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods |
Exports - partners | - | EU 71.3% (France 19.5%, Germany 11.8%, Portugal 10.0%, Italy 9.0%, UK 8.9%), Latin America 6.1%,US 4.4%, (2001) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $828 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 31% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $20,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 05 N, 63 57 W | 40 00 N, 4 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 | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 346,858 km
paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,469 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1990) (1990) |
Illicit drugs | - | key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | - | $156.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods (1997) |
Imports - partners | US, Mexico (2006) | EU 63.9% (France 16.8%, Germany 15.5%, Italy 9.1%, Benelux 7.3%, UK 7.0%), OPEC 7.3%, US 4.6%, Japan 2.5%, Latin America 4.2% |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Moslem occupation that began in the early 8th Century A. D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 56 (2000) |
Irrigated land | - | 36,400 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo |
Labor force | - | 17.1 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry | services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture 7% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total: 1,917.8 km
border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 28.6%
permanent crops: 9.56% other: 61.84% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats - 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); Congress of Deputies - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP 44.6%, PSOE 34.1%, CiU 4.2%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1.1%, PIL 0%; seats by party - PP 127, PSOE 61, CiU 8, PNV 6, CC 5, PIL 1; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 44.5%, PSOE 34%, CiU 4.2%, IU 5.4%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1%, BNG 1.3%; seats by party - PP 183, PSOE 125, CiU 15, IU 8, PNV 7, CC 4, BNG 3, other 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 79.08 years
male: 75.63 years female: 82.76 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,364,751 GRT/1,962,764 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 31, chemical tanker 10, container 10, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Cuba 2, Denmark 1, Germany 7, Italy 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Uruguay 3 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.6 billion (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.15% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 10,520,561 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 8,403,430 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 281,043 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) | Hispanic Day, 12 October |
Nationality | - | noun: Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish |
Natural hazards | - | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | salt | coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 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] | Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Batasuna [Arnaldo OTEGI]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Xose Manuel BEIRAS]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Gaspar LLAMAZARES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO; Nunca Mais (Galician for "Not Again"; formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill) |
Population | 33,102 (October 2004 census) | 40,077,100 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.09% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 3 (2007) | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 13.1 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 15,171 km
broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,434 km electrified) standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,837 km 1.000-m gauge (617 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu | Roman Catholic 94%, other 6% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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: generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons
domestic: NA international: 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 17.336 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 8.394 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)
note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995) |
Terrain | - | large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.16 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 11.3% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,045 km (of minor economic importance) |