1986 Edition

Agriculture

bananas, pineapples, vegetables, flowers, limited sugarcane for rum

Aid

economic — bilateral ODA and OOF commitments (1970-81) from Western (nonUS) countries, $3. 1 billion; no military aid

Airfields

4 total; 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m

Area

1, 100 km2; slightly smaller than Rhode Island; 31% crop, 29% forest, 24% waste or built on, 16% pasture Water

Branches

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

executive, Military Committee for National Salvation rules by decree; National Assembly and judiciary suspended pending restoration of civilian rule

Budget

(1981) expenditures, $215 million

Capital

Fort-de-France

Nouakchott

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Coastline

290 km People

754 km People

Communists

1,000 estimated

no Communist Party, but there is a scattering of Maoist sympathizers

Elections

General Council election 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), Edmond Valcin; Progressive Party of Martinique (PPM), Aime Cesaire; Communist Party of Martinique (PCM), Armand Nicolas; Democratic Union of Martinique (UDM), Leon-Laurent Valere

in abeyance; last presidential election August 1976 Political parties and leaders: suspended

Electric power

66,000 kW capacity (1985); 319 million kWh produced (1985), 976 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

90% African and AfricanCaucasian-Indian mixture, 5% Caucasian, less than 5% East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese

40% mixed Moor /black; 30% Moor, 30% black

Exports

$123 million (1981); refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

$1.38 billion (1980), $4,540 per capita

Government leader

jean CHEVANCE, Prefect of the Republic (since 1981)

Col. Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA, President and Prime Minister (since December 1984)

Highways

1,680 km total; 1,300 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth

Imports

$703 million (1981); petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods

Infant mortality rate

12.6/1,000(1981)

136/1,000(1983)

Labor force

100,000; 31.7% service industry, 29.4% construction and public works, 13.1% agriculture, 7.3% industry, 2.2% fisheries, 16.3% other; 14% unemployed

total labor force 465,000 (1981 est.); about 45,000 wage earners (1980 IMF); 47% agriculture, 29% services, 14% industry and commerce, 10% government; considerable unemployment

Land boundaries

5,118 km Water

Language

French, Creole patois

Hasaniya Arabic (national); French (official); Toucouleur, Fula, Sarakole, Wolof

Legal system

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

based on Islamic law; military constitution April 1979

Life expectancy

68

men 44, women 47

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (200 nm exclusive economic zone)

70 nm (200 nm exclusive economic zone)

Literacy

over 70%

17%

Major industries

construction, rum, cement, oil refining, light industry, tourism

Major trade partners

exports — 56% France (1978); imports— 62% France, 28% EC and franc zone, 4.5% US, 5.5% other (1977)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 84,000 Land 1,030,700 km2; the size of Texas and California combined; almost 90% desert, 10% pasture, less than 1 % suitable for crops

Monetary conversion rate

7.71 French francs=US$l (December 1985)

National holiday

Independence Day, 28 November

Nationality

noun — Martiniquais (sing, and pi.); adjective — Martiniquais

noun — Mauritanian(s); adjective— Mauri tanian

Natural resources

scenery, cultivable land

NOTE

Mauritania acquired administrative control of the southern third of Western (formerly Spanish) Sahara under a 1975 agreement with Morocco and Spain. Following an August 1979 peace agreement with Polisario insurgents fighting for control of Western Sahara, Mauritania withdrew from the territory and renounced all territorial claims.

Official name

Department of Martinique

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Organized labor

1 1 % of labor force Government

30,000 members claimed by single union, Mauritanian Workers' Union Government

Other political or pressure groups

Proletarian Action Group (GAP), Socialist Revolution Group (GRS), Martinique Independence Movement (MIM), Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance (ARC), Central Union for Martinique Workers (CSTM) Member o/.- WFTU Economy

Political subdivisions

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

12 regions and a capital district

Population

328,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 0. 1 %

1,691, 000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.1%

Ports

1 major (Fort-de-France), 5 minor Mauritania

Railroads

none

Religion

95% Roman Catholic, 5% Hindu and pagan African

nearly 100% Muslim

Suffrage

universal over age 18

universal for adults

Telecommunications

domestic facilities are adequate; 68,900 telephones (21.5 per 100 popl.); interisland radio-relay links to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and St. Lucia; 2 Atlantic Ocean satellite antennas; 1 AM, 5 FM, 10 TV stations • Defense Forces Defense is responsibility of France

Type

overseas department and region of France; represented by three deputies in the French National Assembly and two senators in the Senate

republic; military first seized power in bloodless coup 10 July 1978; a palace coup that took place on 12 December 1984 brought the President to power

Voting strength

RPR, 1 seat in French National Assembly; UDF, 1 seat; Socialist Party, 1 seat