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Saint Pierre And Miquelon travel guides

Saint Pierre And Miquelon - General Country Information

Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transnational Issues

Introduction

General Information: Saint Pierre And Miquelon

The capital of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is Saint-Pierre.

Geography

Location:	Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)
Coordinates:	46 50 N, 56 20 W
Area:	total: 242 sq km land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups
Area Comparative:	1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land Boundaries:	0 km
Coastline:	120 km
Maritime Claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:	cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy
Terrain:	mostly barren rock
Elevation Extremes:	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m
Natural Resources:	fish, deepwater ports
Land Use:	arable land: 13.04% permanent crops: 0% other: 86.96% (2001)
Irrigated Land:	NA sq km
Natural Hazards:	persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard
Environment Current Issues:	recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment
Note:	vegetation scanty

People

Population:	6,995 (July 2004 est.)
Age Structure:	total: 33.3 years male: 33 years female: 33.6 years (2004 est.)
Population Growth Rate:	0.26% (2004 est.)
Birth Rate:	14.15 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death Rate:	6.72 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Migration Rate:	-4.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex Ratio:	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate:	total: 7.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Expectancy Birth:	total population: 78.28 years male: 75.97 years female: 80.7 years (2004 est.)
Fertility Rate:	2.05 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French
Ethnic Groups:	Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)
Religions:	Roman Catholic 99%
Languages:	French (official)
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.)

Gouvernment

Country Name:	conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
Capital:	Saint-Pierre
Administrative Divisions:	none (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order
Independence:	none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)
National Holiday:	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution:	28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal System:	French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing and taxation
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Albert DUPUY (since 10 January 2005) head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, first round - 21 April 2002, second round - 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council
Legislative Branch:	unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1
Judicial Branch:	Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel
Political Parties Leaders:	PRG [leader NA]; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP) [leader NA]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA]
International Organization Participation:	UPU, WFTU
Diplomatic in US:	none (territorial collectivity of France)
Diplomatic from US:	none (territorial collectivity of France)
Flag Description:	a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions

Economy

Economy Overview:	The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector.
GDP:	purchasing power parity - $48.33 million - supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million (2003 est.)
GDP Capital:	purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2001 est.)
GDP Composition:	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: NA
Household Income:	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation Rate:	2.1% (1991-96 average)
Labor Force:	3,261 (1999)
Labor Force Occupation:	fishing 18%, industry (mainly fish-processing) 41%, services 41% (1996 est.)
Unemployment Rate:	9.8% (1997)
Budget:	revenues: $70 million expenditures: $60 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.)
Agriculture Products:	vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Industries:	fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism
Electricity Production:	42.03 million kWh (2001)
Electricity Consumption:	39.08 million kWh (2001)
Electricity Exports:	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity Imports:	0 kWh (2001)
Oil Production:	0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil Consumption:	600 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil Exports:	NA (2001)
Oil Imports:	NA (2001)
Exports:	$10 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports Commodities:	fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts
Exports Partners:	US 42.9%, Ecuador 28.6%, Canada 14.3%, France 14.3% (2003)
Imports:	$106 million f.o.b. (2002)
Imports Commodities:	meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials
Imports Partners:	France 51%, Canada 31.4%, Italy 11.8% (2003)
Debt External:	NA (2003 est.)
Currency:	euro (EUR)
Currency Code:	EUR
Exchange Rates:	euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.0626 (2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)
Fiscal Year:	calendar year

Communications

Telephones Lines Use:	4,800 (2002)
Mobile Cellular:	0 (1994)
Telephone System:	general assessment: adequate domestic: NA international: country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system
Radio Stations:	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television Stations:	0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997)
Internet Code:	.pm