Map of Martinique | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: 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: Caribbean island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 14 40 N 61 00 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 1,100 km²
Land: 1,060 km²
Water: 40 km²
Comparative: slightly more than six times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: 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

Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m

Natural resources: coastal scenery and beaches cultivable land

Land use
Arable land: 10.38%
Permanent crops: 9.43%
Other: 80.19% (2001)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes flooding and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years)

Geography
Note: 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: 429,510 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 0.81% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
Adjective: Martiniquais

Ethnic groups: African and African-white-Indian mixture 90% white 5% East Indian Chinese less than 5%

Languages: French Creole patois

Religions: Roman Catholic 85% Protestant 10.5% Muslim 0.5% Hindu 0.5% other 3.5% (1997)

Demographic profile

Age structure
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.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 33.1 years
Male: 32.5 years
Female: 33.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.81% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 14.56 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.05 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.02 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male/female
15-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.27 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.79 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 9.8 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.88 years
Male: 79.35 years
Female: 78.4 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.7%
Male: 97.4%
Female: 98.1% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Department of Martinique
Conventional short form: Martinique
Local long form: Departement de la Martinique
Local short form: Martinique

Government type: NA

Capital: Fort-de-France

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: Bastille Day 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
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
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
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

Legislative branch
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)

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

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]

International organization participation: UPU WCL WFTU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas department of France)
From the us: none (overseas department of France)

Flag description: a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: NA

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2001 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 6%
Industry: 11%
Services: 83% (1997 est.)

Agriculture products: pineapples avocados bananas flowers vegetables sugarcane

Industries: construction rum cement oil refining sugar tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: 165,900 (1998)
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 17%
By occupation services: 73% (1997)

Unemployment rate: 27.2% (1998)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA
Highest 10: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $900 million
Expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.9% (1990)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $250 million f.o.b. (1997)
Commodities: refined petroleum products bananas rum pineapples (2001 est.)
Partners: France 45% Guadeloupe 28% (2000)

Imports: $2 billion c.i.f. (1997)
Commodities: petroleum products crude oil foodstuffs construction materials vehicles clothing and other consumer goods
Partners: France 62% Venezuela 6% Germany 4% Italy 4% US 3% (2000)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $180 million (1994)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: 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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Electricity
Production: 1.151 billion kWh (2001)
Consumption: 1.07 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 172,000 est (2001)
Mobile cellular: 319,900 (2002)

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)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .mq
Users: 40,000 (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 2 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine: none

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe