1985 Edition

Branches

Royal Grenada Police Force 20krr Caribbean Sea Land 1,779 km2; more than twice the size of New York City; area consists of two islands; 47% waste and built on, 24% crop, 16% forest, 9% pasture, 4% potential crop Water

executive, Prefect appointed by Paris; legislative, popularly elected General Council of 36 members and a Regional Council composed of members of the local General Council and the locally elected deputies and senators to the French parliament; judicial, under jurisdiction of French judicial system

Capital

Basse-Terre

Coastline

306 km People

Communists

3,000 est.

Elections

General Council elections are normally held every five years; last General Council election took place in June 1981; regional assembly elections held February Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Gabriel Lisette; Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Henri Bangou; Socialist Party (MSG), leader unknown; Progressive Party of Guadeloupe (PPG), Henri Rodes; Independent Republicans; Federation of the Left; Union for French Democracy (UDF); Union for a New Majority (UNM)

Ethnic divisions

90% black or mulatto; 5% Caucasian; less than 5% East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese

Government leader

Maurice SABORIN, Prefect of the Republic (since 1984)

Labor force

120,000; services, government, and commerce 53%; industry 25.8%; agriculture 21.2%; significant unemployment

Language

French, Creole patois

Legal system

French legal system; highest court is a court of appeal based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)

Literacy

over 70%

Nationality

noun — Guadeloupian(s); adjective— Guadeloupe

Official name

Department of Guadeloupe

Organized labor

11% of labor force Government

Political subdivisions

3 arrondissements; 34 communes, each with a locally elected municipal council

Population

333,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 0.4%

Religion

95% Roman Catholic, 5% Hindu and pagan African

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Telecommunications

automatic, islandwide telephone system with 5,650 telephones (5.4 per 100 popl.); new SHF links to Trinidad and St. Vincent; VHP and UHF links to Trinidad and Carriacou; 2 AM stations, 1 TV station Defense Forces

Type

overseas department and region of France; represented by three deputies in the French National Assembly and two senators in the Senate; last Assembly election, 21 June

Voting strength

(1981 election) French National Assembly— MSG, 1 seat; PCG, 1 seat; UDF, 1 seat