| Background: |
Guadeloupe has
been a French possession since 1635. The island of
Saint-Martin is divided with the Netherlands (whose southern
portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands
Antilles). |
| Location: |
Caribbean,
islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto
Rico |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
16 15 N, 61 35 W |
| Map
references: |
Central America
and the Caribbean |
| Area: |
total:
1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km
water: 74 sq km
note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine
inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre,
Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy,
Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of
the island of Saint Martin |
| Area
- comparative: |
10 times the size
of Washington, DC |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
10.2 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint
Maarten) 10.2 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
subtropical
tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity |
| Terrain: |
Basse-Terre is
volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is
low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are
volcanic in origin |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,467 m |
| Natural
resources: |
cultivable land,
beaches and climate that foster tourism |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
14%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 29% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
30 sq km (1993
est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
hurricanes (June
to October); Soufriere is an active volcano |
| Environment
- current issues: |
NA |
| Population: |
431,170 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
24.99% (male 55,030; female 52,722)
15-64 years: 66.22% (male 141,294; female
144,232)
65 years and over: 8.79% (male 15,901; female
21,991) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.07% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
16.91
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
6.02 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
9.53 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 77.16 years
male: 74.01 years
female: 80.48 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.93 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
| Ethnic
groups: |
black or mulatto
90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic
95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
| Languages: |
French (official)
99%, Creole patois |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90%
male: 90%
female: 90% (1982 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe
local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe
local short form: Guadeloupe |
| Dependency
status: |
overseas
department of France |
| Administrative
divisions: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Independence: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| National
holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14
July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 1958
(French Constitution) |
| Legal
system: |
French legal
system |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since
17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA
1996)
head of government: President of the General
Council Marcellin LUBETH (since NA March 1998); President of
the Regional Council Lucette MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March
1992)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular
vote for a seven-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
election results: NA |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the
unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 22 March
1998 (next to be held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last
held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: General Council - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - diverse left parties
11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, diverse right parties 5, PCG 3, UDF
1; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - RPR 48.03%,
PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 24.49%, PCG 5.29%, diverse
right parties 5.73%; seats by party - RPR 25, PS/PPDG/diverse
left parties 12, PCG 2, diverse right parties 2
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to
the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995
(next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe
elects four representatives to the French National Assembly;
elections last held 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA
2002); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FGPS
2, RPR 1, PPDG 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Appeal
or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French
Guiana, and Martinique |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Communist Party
of Guadeloupe or PCG [Christian CELESTE]; Progressive
Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Rally for the
Republic or RPR [Aldo BLAISE]; Socialist Party or PS
[Georges LOUISOR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Marcel
ESDRAS] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Christian
Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General
Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of
Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent
Guadeloupe or MPGI |
| International
organization participation: |
FZ, WCL, WFTU |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Flag
description: |
three horizontal
bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide red band, and a
narrow green band; the green bands are separated from the
red band by two narrow white stripes; a gold five-pointed
star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the
flag of France is used for official occasions |
| Economy
- overview: |
The economy
depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and
services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and
imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from
the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit
the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being
replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply
about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other
vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local
consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on
imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features
sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel
are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the
young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $3.7 billion (1997 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
NA% |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $9,000 (1997 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
15%
industry: 17%
services: 68% (1997 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
NA |
| Labor
force: |
125,900 (1997) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
NA |
| Unemployment
rate: |
27.8% (1998) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital
expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
| Industries: |
construction,
cement, rum, sugar, tourism |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
1.3 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
1.209 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
bananas,
sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs,
goats |
| Exports: |
$140 million
(f.o.b., 1997) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
bananas, sugar,
rum |
| Exports
- partners: |
France 60%,
Martinique 18%, US 4% (1997) |
| Imports: |
$1.7 billion
(c.i.f., 1997) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods,
construction materials |
| Imports
- partners: |
France 63%,
Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (1997) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA; note -
substantial annual French subsidies |
| Currency: |
French franc (FRF);
euro (EUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Euros per US
dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386
(1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367
(1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
171,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua
and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 17,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
5 (plus several
low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
118,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gp |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
4,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines |
| Highways: |
total:
2,560 km
paved: 965 km
unpaved: 1,595 km (1996) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Basse-Terre,
Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,240 GRT/109 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
8
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
French Forces,
Gendarmerie |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the
responsibility of France |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
