_#_Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to
October)
_#_Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
_#_Natural resources: coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land
_#_Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 8%; meadows and pastures
30%; forest and woodland 26%; other 26%; includes irrigated 5%
_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic
activity that result in an average of one major natural disaster every
five years
_#_Note: located 625 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
_*_People
_#_Population: 345,180 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Martiniquais (sing. and pl.);
adjective--Martiniquais
_#_Ethnic divisions: African and African-Caucasian-Indian mixture
90%, Caucasian 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African
5%
_#_Language: French, Creole patois
_#_Literacy: 93% (male 92%, female 93%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1982)
_#_Labor force: 100,000; service industry 31.7%, construction and
public works 29.4%, agriculture 13.1%, industry 7.3%, fisheries 2.2%,
other 16.3%
_#_Organized labor: 11% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Department of Martinique
_#_Type: overseas department of France
_#_Capital: Fort-de-France
_#_Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
_#_Independence: none (overseas department of France)
_#_Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
_#_Legal system: French legal system
_#_National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
_#_Executive branch: government commissioner
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral
Regional Council
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since
21 May 1981);
Head of Government--Government Commissioner Jean Claude ROURE
(since 5 May 1989); President of the General Council Emile MAURICE
(since NA 1988)
_#_Political parties:
Rally for the Republic (RPR), Stephen BAGO;
Union of the Left composed of the Progressive Party of Martinique (PPM),
Aime CESAIRE;
Socialist Federation of Martinique, Michael YOYO;
and
the Communist Party of Martinique (PCM), Armand NICOLAS;
Union for French Democracy (UDF), Jean MARAN
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
General Council--last held on NA October 1988
(next to be held by March 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(44 total) number of seats by party NA;
Regional Assembly--last held on 16 March 1986 (next to be held by
March 1992); results--UDF/RPR coalition 49.8%, PPM/FSM/PCM
coalition 41.3%, other 8.9%;
seats--(41 total) PPM/FSM/PCM coalition 21, UDF/RPR coalition 20;
French Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
September 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) UDF 1, PPM 1;
French National Assembly--last held on 5 and 12 June 1988 (next
to be held June 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(4 total) PPM 1, FSM 1, RPR 1, UDF 1
_#_Communists: 1,000 (est.)
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Proletarian Action Group (GAP);
Alhed Marie-Jeanne Socialist Revolution Group (GRS), Martinique
Independence Movement (MIM), Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance (ARC),
Central Union for Martinique Workers (CSTM), Marc Pulvar; Frantz Fanon
Circle; League of Workers and Peasants
_#_Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
_#_Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France,
Martiniquais interests are represented in the US by France;
US--Consul General Raymond G. ROBINSON; Consulate General at 14 Rue
Blenac, Fort-de-France (mailing address is B. P. 561, Fort-de-France
97206); telephone [590] 63-13-03
_#_Flag: the flag of France is used
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and
light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 12% of GDP and the small
industrial sector for 10%. 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
has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of
foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the
service sector and in administration. In 1986 per capita GDP was
relatively high at $6,000. During 1986 the unemployment rate was 30% and
was particularly severe among younger workers.
_#_GDP: $2.0 billion, per capita $6,000; real growth rate NA% (1986)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% (1986)
_#_Budget: revenues $268 million; expenditures $268 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $196 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples;
partners--France 65%, Guadeloupe 24%, FRG (1987)
_#_Imports: $1.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction
materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods;
partners--France 65%, UK, Italy, FRG, Japan, US (1987)
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%
_#_Electricity: 113,000 kW capacity; 564 million kWh produced,
1,660 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism
_#_Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about 12%
of GDP; principal crops--pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers,
vegetables, and sugarcane for rum; dependent on imported food,
particularly meat and vegetables
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $9.9 billion
_#_Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100
centimes
_#_Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.1307 (January 1991),
5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261
(1986), 8.9852 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 1,680 km total; 1,300 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth
_#_Ports: Fort-de-France
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 2 total; 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways less than 2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: domestic facilities are adequate; 68,900
telephones; interisland radio relay links to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and
Saint Lucia; stations--1 AM, 6 FM, 10 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 95,235; NA fit for military
service
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of France
_%_
_@_Mauritania
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1,030,700 km2; land area: 1,030,400 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of
New Mexico
_#_Land boundaries: 5,074 km total; Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km,
Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
_#_Coastline: 754 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;