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Background:
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 Colonized
by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a
French possession except for three brief periods of foreign
occupation. |
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Location:
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Caribbean, island
between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of
Trinidad and Tobago |
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Geographic coordinates:
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14 40 N, 61 00 W |
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Map references:
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Central
America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total:
1,100 sq km
water: 40 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more
than six times the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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350 km |
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Climate:
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tropical;
moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October);
vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight
years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
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Terrain:
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mountainous with
indented coastline; dormant volcano |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
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Natural resources:
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coastal scenery
and beaches, cultivable land |
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Land use:
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arable land:
9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32%
other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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30 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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hurricanes,
flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major
natural disaster every five years) |
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Environment - current issues:
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NA |
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Geography - note:
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the island is
dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and
completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000
inhabitants |
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Population:
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429,510 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
22.6% (male 49,245; female 47,845)
15-64 years: 67% (male 143,893; female 143,963)
65 years and over: 10.4% (male 20,043; female 24,521)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
33.1 years
male: 32.5 years
female: 33.8 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.81% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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14.56
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.43 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
|
at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
7.27 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.79 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 78.88 years
male: 79.35 years
female: 78.4 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
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Ethnic groups:
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African and
African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian,
Chinese less than 5% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic
85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5%
(1997) |
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Languages:
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French, Creole
patois |
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Literacy:
|
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7%
male: 97.4%
female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique
local short form: Martinique
local long form: Departement de la Martinique |
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Dependency status:
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overseas
department of France |
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Government type:
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NA |
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Capital:
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Fort-de-France |
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Administrative divisions:
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none (overseas
department of France) |
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Independence:
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none (overseas
department of France) |
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National holiday:
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Bastille Day, 14
July (1789) |
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Constitution:
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28 September 1958
(French Constitution) |
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Legal system:
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French legal
system |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note
- took office 8 February 2004
elections: French president elected by popular vote for
a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on
the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents
of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the
members of those councils
head of government: President of the General Council
Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional
Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998)
cabinet: NA |
|
Legislative branch:
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unicameral
General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a
unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000
(next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 28
March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11,
RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2,
independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional
Assembly (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM
53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4
note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate;
elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held
September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the
French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9
June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not
later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing
candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found
invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be
called) |
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Judicial branch:
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Court of Appeal
or Cour d'Appel |
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Political parties and leaders:
|
Martinique
Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique
Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique
Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique
Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of
Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas
[Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE];
Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES];
Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Caribbean
Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique
Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of
Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
none (overseas
department of France) |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
none (overseas
department of France) |
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Economy - overview:
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The economy is
based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry.
Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small
industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with
most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum.
Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The
bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be
imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that
requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism,
which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more
important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign
exchange. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power
parity - $6.117 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
|
NA% |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power
parity - $14,400 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
6%
industry: 11%
services: 83% (1997 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
|
NA% |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
3.9% (1990) |
|
Labor force:
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165,900 (1998) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 10%,
industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
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Unemployment rate:
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27.2% (1998) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital
expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
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Industries:
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construction,
rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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1.151 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.07 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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13,500 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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pineapples,
avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
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Exports:
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$250 million
f.o.b. (1997) |
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Exports - commodities:
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refined petroleum
products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
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Exports - partners:
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France 45%,
Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$2 billion c.i.f.
(1997) |
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Imports - commodities:
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petroleum
products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials,
vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
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Imports - partners:
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France 62%,
Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$180 million
(1994) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA; note -
substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
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Currency:
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euro (EUR) |
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Currency code:
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EUR |
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Exchange rates:
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euros per US
dollar - 0.8860 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854
(2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995
(1998) |
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Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
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172,000 est
(2001) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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319,900 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
|
general
assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA
international: country code - 596; microwave radio
relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite
earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 0, FM 14,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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11 (plus nine
repeaters) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.mq |
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Internet users:
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40,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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0 km |
|
Highways:
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total:
2,105 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km (2000) |
|
Waterways:
|
none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Fort-de-France,
La Trinite |
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Merchant marine:
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none |
|
Airports:
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2 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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no regular
military forces; Gendarmerie |
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Military - note:
|
defense is the
responsibility of France |
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Disputes - international:
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none |
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Illicit drugs:
|
transshipment
point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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