Saint Martin (2007) | Swaziland (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 1 | 18 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. |
Birth rate | - | 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 ) |
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 |
Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
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 tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 58.9 km (for entire island) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted |
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 Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | - | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | - | 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $336 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
Disputes - international | - | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $104 million (2001) |
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. | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 900.66 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 362 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 56%
hydro: 44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni |
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 MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | - | $702 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | - | South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 43% services: 47% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 05 N, 63 57 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 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 | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | - | total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km unpaved: 2,736 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | $850 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Mexico (2006) | South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | - | 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 7.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2001) |
Irrigated land | - | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | - | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; 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 Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 37 years
male: 36.35 years female: 37.66 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.3% male: 78% female: 78.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $20 million (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.75% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | - | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | - | drought |
Natural resources | salt | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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] | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 33,102 (October 2004 census) | 1,123,605
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 1.63% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 3 (2007) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | - | 170,000 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal | 18 years of age |
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 38,500 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 45,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) |
Terrain | - | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 34% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |