Background: First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. They attained the status of an overseas collectivity in 2003.

Geographic coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 W

Map reference: North America

Area
Total: 242 km²
Land: 242 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups
Comparative: one and half times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 120 km

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

Climate: cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy

Terrain: mostly barren rock

Elevation
Highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports

Land use
Agricultural land: 8.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 8.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
Forest: 12.5% (2018 est.)
Other: 78.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)

Natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard

Geography
Note: vegetation scanty; the islands are actually part of the northern Appalachians along with Newfoundland

Population
Distribution: most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island: 5,195 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -1.19% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
Adjective: French

Ethnic groups: Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)

Languages: French (official)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.42% (male 358/female 339)
15-64 years: 61.98% (male 1,590/female 1,630)
65 years and over: 24.6% (2023 est.) (male 563/female 715)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 52
Youth dependency ratio: 26.1
Elderly dependency ratio: 25.9
Potential support ratio: 3.9 (2021)

Median age
Total: 50.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 49.9 years
Female: 51.2 years

Population growth rate: -1.19% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 6.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 11.4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island

Urbanization
Urban population: 90.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 6,000 SAINT-PIERRE (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: overfishing; recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 79.3 years
Female: 84.1 years

Total fertility rate: 1.59 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: 91.4% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 8.6% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: NA

Physicians density: NA

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

Country name
Conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
Local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
Etymology: Saint-Pierre is named after Saint PETER, the patron saint of fishermen; Miquelon may be a corruption of the Basque name Mikelon

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Territorial Council); overseas collectivity of France

Capital
Name: Saint-Pierre
Geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W
Time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Etymology: named after Saint Peter, the patron saint of fisherman

Administrative divisions: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 2 communes at the second order - Saint Pierre, Miquelon

Independence: none (overseas collectivity collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)

National holiday: Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790)

Constitution
History: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Amendments: amendment procedures of France's constitution apply

Legal system: French civil law

Citizenship: see France

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Christian POUGET (since 6 January 2021)
Head of government: President of Territorial Council Bernard BRIAND (since 13 October 2020)
Cabinet: Le Cabinet du Prefet
Elections/appointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 April and 24 April 2022 (next to be held in 2,027); prefect appointed by French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior; Territorial Council president elected by Territorial Council councilors by absolute majority vote; term NA; election last held on 13 October 2020 (next election to held in NA)
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel (composition NA)
Judge selection and term of office: judge selection and tenure NA
Subordinate courts: NA

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: UPU, WFTU (NGOs)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
From the us embassy: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Flag description: a yellow three-masted sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a blue background with scattered, white, wavy lines under the ship; a continuous black-over-white wavy line divides the ship from the white wavy lines; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the blue on the main portion of the flag symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the stylized ship represents the Grande Hermine in which Jacques Cartier "discovered" the islands in 1536
Note: the flag of France used for official occasions

National symbols: 16th-century sailing ship

National anthem
Note: as a collectivity of France, "La Marseillaise" is official (see France)

Economy overview: high-income, French North American territorial economy; primarily fishing exports; substantial French Government support; highly seasonal labor force; euro user; increasing tourism and aquaculture investments

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million

Real gdp growth rate: NA

Real gdp per capita:

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2% (2006 est.)
Industry: 15% (2006 est.)
Services: 83% (2006 est.)

Agriculture products: vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Industries: fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: 4,429 (2015)

Unemployment rate:

Population below poverty line: NA

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

Budget
Revenues: $70 million (1996 est.)
Expenditures: $60 million (1996 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: 3.8% (of GDP) (1996 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 26.8% (of GDP) (1996 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Exports:
Partners: Canada 79%, France 8%, Belgium 6% (2019)
Commodities: crustaceans, fish, medical instruments, electrical parts, pasta (2019)

Imports:
Partners: France 69%, Canada 22% (2019)
Commodities: food preparation, packaged medicines, low-voltage protection equipment, cars, computers, iron structures (2019)

Debt external: NA

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 26,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 47.267 million kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 1.733 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 650 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 84,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 84,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 0 Btu/person (2019 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,800 (2015 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 76 (2015 est.)

Broadcast media: 8 TV stations, all part of the French Overseas Network, and local cable provided by SPM Telecom; 3 of 4 radio stations on St. Pierre and on Miquelon are part of the French Overseas Network (2021)

Internet
Country code: .pm
Users total: 5,099 (2022 est.)
Users percent of population: 88.7% (2022 est.)

Airports: 2 (2021)
With paved runways: 2
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)

Roadways
Total: 117 km (2009)
Paved: 80 km (2009)
Unpaved: 37 km (2009)

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Saint-Pierre

Disputes international: none identified