GUADELOUPE
(overseas department of France)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 1,780 km2; land area: 1,760 km2
Comparative area: 10 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 306 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: subtropical tempered by trade winds; relatively high
humidity
Terrain: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior
mountains; Grand-Terre is low limestone formation
Natural resources: cultivable land, beaches, and climate that
foster tourism
Land use: arable land 18%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and
pastures 13%; forest and woodland 40%; other 24%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: subject to hurricanes (June to October); La
Soufriere is an active volcano
Note: located 500 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
PEOPLE
Population: 344,897 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Guadeloupian(s); adjective--Guadeloupe
Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 90%; white 5%; East Indian,
Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5%
Language: French, creole patois
Literacy: 90% (male 90%, female 91%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1982)
Labor force: 120,000; 53.0% services, government, and commerce,
25.8% industry, 21.2% agriculture
Organized labor: 11% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Department of Guadeloupe
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Basse-Terre
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: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel) with jurisdiction
over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since
21 May 1981);
Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Paul PROUST
(since November 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
Rally for the Republic (RPR), Marlene CAPTANT;
Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Christian Medard CELESTE;
Socialist Party (PSG), Dominique LARIFLA;
Independent Republicans;
Union for French Democracy (UDF);
Union for a New Majority (UNM)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
General Council --last held NA 1986 (next to be held by NA 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(42 total) number of seats by party NA;
Regional Council--last held on 16 March 1986 (next to be held
by 16 March 1992);
results--RPR 33.1%, PS 28.7%, PCG 23.8%, UDF 10.7%, other 3.7%;
seats--(41 total) RPR 15, PS 12, PCG 10, UDF 4;
French Senate--last held on 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be
held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects two representatives;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(2 total) PCG 1, PS 1;
French National Assembly--last held on 5 and 12 June 1988
(next to be held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects four representatives;
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(4 total) PS 2 seats, RPR 1 seat, PCG 1 seat
Communists: 3,000 est.
Other political or pressure groups: Popular Union for the
Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG); Popular Movement for Independent
Guadeloupe (MPGI); General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG); General
Federation of Guadeloupe Workers (CGT-G); Christian Movement for
the Liberation of Guadeloupe (KLPG)
Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France,
the interests of Guadeloupe are represented in the US by France
Flag: the flag of France is used
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light
industry, and services. It is also dependent upon France for large
subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from
the US. In addition, an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit
the islands. The traditionally important 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, which comes mainly from France. Light
industry consists mostly of sugar and rum production. Most manufactured
goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the
young.
GDP: $1.1 billion, per capita $3,300; real growth rate NA% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 38% (1987)
Budget: revenues $254 million; expenditures $254 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1989)
Exports: $153 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--bananas, sugar, rum;
partners--France 68%, Martinique 22% (1987)
Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--vehicles, foodstuffs, clothing and other consumer
goods, construction materials, petroleum products;
partners--France 64%, Italy, FRG, US (1987)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 171,500 kW capacity; 441 million kWh produced,
1,290 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism
Agriculture: cash crops--bananas and sugarcane; other products
include tropical fruits and vegetables; livestock--cattle, pigs, and
goats; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $7.9 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
Railroads: privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines
Highways: 1,940 km total; 1,600 km paved, 340 km gravel and earth
Ports: Pointe-a-Pitre, Basse-Terre
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 9 total, 9 usable, 8 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities inadequate; 57,300
telephones; interisland radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica,
and Martinique; stations--2 AM, 8 FM (30 private stations licensed to
broadcast FM), 9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT ground station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 98,069; NA fit for military
service
Note: defense is responsibility of France