| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe
local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe
local short form: Guadeloupe |
| Capital: |
Basse-Terre |
| Location: |
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
16 15 N, 61 35 W |
| Area: |
total: 1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km
water: 74 sq km
note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin) |
| Area
Comparative: |
10 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 10.2 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km |
| Coastline: |
306 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity |
| 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,484 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (overseas department of France) |
| Independence |
none (overseas department of France) |
| National
Holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
| Legal
System; |
French legal system |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Paul GIROT DE LANGLADE (since 17 August 2004)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-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 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12
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 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Marlene MELISSE and Favrot DAVRAIN]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Marcel ESDRAS]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including RPR) [Robert JOYEUX] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
448,713 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 24% (male 55,072/female 52,677)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 148,880/female 151,238)
65 years and over: 9.1% (male 17,032/female 23,814) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 31.81 years
male: 30.91 years
female: 32.73 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
| Ethnic groups: |
black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
| Languages: |
French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
210,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
323,500 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA
international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.gp |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
20,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 947 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,240 GRT/109 DWT
by type: passenger 1
foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) (2005) |
| Airports: |
9 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
