- Overview
- Symbols
- Geography
- Leaders
- Health
- Education
- Politics
- Economy
- ICT
- Transport
- Safety
» OVERVIEW
| Country Name: |
conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique
local short form: Martinique
local long form: Departement de la Martinique |
| Capital: |
Fort-de-France |
| Background: |
Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
| Nationality: |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
| Population: |
425,966 (July 2003 est.) |
| Ethnic groups: |
African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
| Languages: |
French, Creole patois |
» NATIONAL SYMBOLS
Flag
|
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 Anthem
|
La Marseillaise - paroles en français
Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras.
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!
Aux armes citoyens
Formez vos bataillons
Marchons, marchons
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons
Que veut cette horde d'esclaves
De traîtres, de rois conjurés?
Pour qui ces ignobles entraves
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés?
Français, pour nous, ah! quel outrage
Quels transports il doit exciter?
C'est nous qu'on ose méditer
De rendre à l'antique esclavage!
Quoi ces cohortes étrangères!
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers!
Quoi! ces phalanges mercenaires
Terrasseraient nos fils guerriers!
Grand Dieu! par des mains enchaînées
Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient
De vils despotes deviendraient
Les maîtres des destinées.
Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides
L'opprobre de tous les partis
Tremblez! vos projets parricides
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix!
Tout est soldat pour vous combattre
S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros
La France en produit de nouveaux,
Contre vous tout prêts à se battre.
Français, en guerriers magnanimes
Portez ou retenez vos coups!
Épargnez ces tristes victimes
À regret s'armant contre nous
Mais ces despotes sanguinaires
Mais ces complices de Bouillé
Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié
Déchirent le sein de leur mère!
Nous entrerons dans la carrière
Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus
Nous y trouverons leur poussière
Et la trace de leurs vertus
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre
Que de partager leur cercueil
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil
De les venger ou de les suivre!
Amour sacré de la Patrie
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs
Liberté, Liberté chérie
Combats avec tes défenseurs!
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes mâles accents
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire! |
National Holidays
|
2008
Feb-Mar Carnival
21 Mar Good Friday
22 May Slavery Abolition Day
21 Jul Schoelcher Day |
» GEOGRAPHY
| Geography Overview |
Mountainous in the north, it’s dominated by the Carbet peaks (3960ft) and the Mount Pelé (4260ft). Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants. It is still an active volcano, which appears among the most observed volcanoes in the world.
In the rest of the island, the relief is constituted of hillocks (called here “mornes”) that can reach a height of about 1657ft (Vauclin’s Mountain) and 1568ft in Diamant.
Only one plain comes out of that uneven unity, that of Lamentin in the central part, where is located the international airport. |
|
| Location: |
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Geographic coordinates: |
14 40 N, 61 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 1,100 sq km
water: 40 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km |
| Area - comparative: |
slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
350 km |
| Maritime claims: |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
| Natural resources: |
coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
| Land use: |
arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32%
other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated land: |
30 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural hazards: |
hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
| Environment - current issues: |
NA |
» LEADERS
Content 9
| President |
Nicolas SARKOZY |
| Prefect |
Michel CADOT |
| Secretary of State for Overseas Territories |
Yves JEGO |
» HEALTH
| Population: |
425,966 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 22.8% (male 49,310; female 47,908)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 142,242; female 142,688)
65 years and over: 10.3% (male 19,656; female 24,162) (2003 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 32.7 years
male: 32 years
female: 33.3 years (2002) |
| Population growth rate: |
0.85% (2003 est.) |
| Birth rate: |
14.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death rate: |
6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net migration rate: |
-0.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| 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: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: |
total: 7.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.72 years
male: 79.27 years
female: 78.16 years (2003 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: |
1.79 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
NA |
» EDUCATION
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7%
male: 97.4%
female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
| Education Note: |
Martinique is an overseas department of France; therefore, the education system is the same as in France. |
» POLITICS
| Dependency status: |
overseas department of France |
| Government type: |
NA |
| 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 Nicolas SARKOZY; Prefect Michel CADOT
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: |
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 15 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004)
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 - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR-UDF 14, MIM 13, PPM 7, left parties 4, PMS 3
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 [Pierre SUEDILLE]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; 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] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: |
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 |
| 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) |
» ECONOMY
| 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11%
services: 83% (1997 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
3.9% (1990) |
| Labor force: |
165,900 (1998) |
| Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
| Unemployment rate: |
27.2% (1998) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
| Industries: |
construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
| Industrial production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity - production: |
1.151 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 100%
other: 0% (2001)
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity - consumption: |
1.07 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
| Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: |
13,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - exports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil - imports: |
NA (2001) |
| Agriculture - products: |
pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
| Exports: |
$250 million f.o.b. (1997) |
| Exports - commodities: |
refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
| Exports - partners: |
France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
| Imports: |
$2 billion c.i.f. (1997) |
| Imports - commodities: |
petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
| Imports - partners: |
France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
| Debt - external: |
$180 million (1994) |
| Economic aid - recipient: |
$NA; note - substantial annual aid from France |
| Currency: |
euro (EUR) |
| Currency code: |
EUR |
| Exchange rates: |
euros per US dollar - 1.0626 euros per US dollar - 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
| Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
» INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
| Telephones - main lines in use: |
170,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: |
15,000 (1997) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA
international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radios: |
82,000 (1997) |
| Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Televisions: |
66,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: |
11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country code: |
.mq |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
2 (2000) |
| Internet users: |
5,000 (2000) |
» TRANSPORTATION
| Railways: |
0 km |
| Highways: |
total: 2,105 km (2000)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km |
| Waterways: |
none |
| Ports and harbors: |
Fort-de-France, La Trinite |
| Merchant marine: |
none (2002 est.) |
| Airports: |
2 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
» DEFENCE AND SAFETY
| Military branches: |
no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie |
| Military - note: |
defense is the responsibility of France |
| Authorised Strength of Police: |
NA (OSAC, 2007) |
| Homicides (per 100,000 people), 2000-2004 |
NA |
| Prison population total, 2007 |
763 |
| Prison population (per 100,000 people), 2007 |
191 |
| Prison population (% female), 2007 |
2.0 |
| Number of establishments /
institutions |
1 (2007 - Ducos)
|
| Official capacity of prison system |
490 (2006) |
| Occupancy level (based on official
capacity)
|
132.4% (2006) |
|
|
home | 
about us | 
news & events | 
contact us 
