1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
1,779 km2; 24% cropland, 9% pasture, 4% potential cropland, 16% forest, 47% wasteland, built on; area consists of two islands WATER
Coastline
306 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
90% Negro or mulatto, 5% Caucasian, less than 5% East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese
Labor force
120,000; 25% agriculture, 25% unemployed
Language
French, Creole patois
Literacy
over 70%
Nationality
noun—Guadeloupian(s); adjective—Guadeloupe
Organized labor
11% of labor force
Population
305,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate -0.7%
Religion
95% Roman Catholic, 5% Hindu and pagan African
Government
Capital
Basse-Terre
Communists
3,000 est.
Elections
General Council elections are normally held every five years; last General Council election took place in June 1981 Political parties and leaders: Rassemblement pour la Republique (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)
Government leader
Commissioner of the Republic Robert MIGUET
Legal system
French legal system; highest court is a court of appeal based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique Branches: 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
Official name
Department of Guadeloupe
Other political or pressure groups
Guadeloupe Liberation Army (GLA)
Political subdivisions
3 arrondissements; 34 communes, each with a locally elected municipal council
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
overseas department and region of France; represented by three deputies in the French National Assembly and two senators in the Senate; last deputy election, 21 June 1981
Voting strength
MSG, 1 seat in French National Assembly; PCG, 1 seat; UDF, 1 seat (1981 election)
Economy
Agriculture
main crops, sugarcane and bananas
Aid
economic—bilateral ODA and OOF commitments (1970-79) from Western (non-US) countries, $2.4 billion; no military aid
Electric power
80,000 kW capacity (1981); 260 million kWh produced (1981), 817 kWh per capita
Exports
$119 million (f.o.b., 1978); sugar, fruits and vegetables, bananas
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$864 million (1977), $2,630 per capita; real growth rate (1977) 8%
Imports
$455 million (c.i.f., 1978); foodstuffs, clothing and other consumer goods, raw materials and supplies, and petroleum products
Major industries
agricultural processing, sugar milling, rum distillation, and tourism
Major trade partners
exports—95% metropolitan France and rest of franc zone; imports—75% metropolitan France and rest of franc zone (1977)
Monetary conversion rate
4.21 French francs=US$1 (1980)
Communications
Airfields
8 total, 8 usable, 8 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m
Civil air
3 major transport aircraft
Highways
1,110 km total; 770 km paved, 340 km gravel and earth
Ports
1 major (Pointe-a-Pitre), 3 minor
Railroads
privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines
Telecommunications
domestic facilities inadequate; 39,100 telephones (12.4 per 100 popl.); interisland radio-relay links; 2 AM, 2 FM, and 3 TV stations
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 80,000; 50,000 fit for military service