Guadeloupe
Department of GuadeloupeDepartement de la Guadeloupe
NAIndependence none (overseas department of France)
Guadeloupe as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 fields, one of 17 editions from 1990 to 2006.
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Geography
Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, | southeast of Puerto Rico
17 fieldsLand useshare of 1,780 sq km
Note
Terrain
- Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains;
- Grande-Terre is low limestone formation;
- most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1999 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 25% (male 53,427; female 51,234)
- 15-64 years:
- 66% (male 138,215; female 141,243)
- 65 years and over:
- 9% (male 15,536; female 21,288) (1999 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.98 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.73 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Government
NA; President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA 1996); President of the General Council Marcellin LUBETH (since NA 1998)
20 fieldsLegislature, 41 seatsone dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Department of Guadeloupe
- conventional short form:
- Guadeloupe
- local long form:
- Departement de la Guadeloupe
- local short form:
- Guadeloupe
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA 1996)
- head of government:
- President of the General Council Marcellin LUBETH (since NA 1998); President of the Regional Council Lucette MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992)
- cabinet:
- NA
- elections:
- French president elected by popular vote for a seven-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
- election results:
- NA
Legislative branch
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
- elections:
- General Council--last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002); Regional Council--last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
- election results:
- General Council--percent of vote by party--NA;
- seats by party--various left parties 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, various right parties 5, PCC 3, UDF 1;
- Regional Council--percent of vote by party--RPR 48.03%, PS/PPDG/DVG 24.49%, PCG 5.29%, DVD 5.73%;
- seats by party--RPR 25, PS/PPDG/DVG 12, PCG 2, DVD 2
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by party--NA;
seats by party--RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May--1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--FGPS 2, RPR 1, PPDG 1
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Political parties and leaders
Rally for the Republic or RPR REIETTE]; Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or IBO]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI;
- General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG;
- General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G;
- Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG
Flag description
- three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide red band, and a narrow green band;
- the green bands are separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes;
- a five-pointed gold star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side;
- the flag of France is used for official occasions
Economy
The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, | light industry, and services.
31 fieldsGDP--composition by sector(1993 est.)
Electricity
Economy--overview
The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional 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, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young.
Imports--commodities
foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials
Exchange rates
French francs (F) per US$1--5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155(1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994)
Communications
6 fieldsTelephone system
domestic facilities inadequate
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique
Transportation
7 fieldsAirports by runway lengthunpaved only
Highways
- total:
- 2,082 km
- paved:
- 1,742 km
- unpaved:
- 340 km (1985 est.)
note: in 1996 there were a total of 3,200 km of roads
Military
French Forces, Gendarmerie
2 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Guadeloupe.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/guadeloupe/1999.