2024 Edition

Background

First settled by the French in the early 17th century, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. They attained the status of an overseas collectivity in 2003.

Area

land

242 sq km

note

note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups

total

242 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

one and half times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy

Coastline

120 km

Elevation

highest point

Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Geographic coordinates

46 50 N, 56 20 W

Geography - note

vegetation scanty; the islands are part of the northern Appalachians, along with Newfoundland

Irrigated land

0 sq km (2022)

Land boundaries

total

0 km

Land use

agricultural land

8.7% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 8.7% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest

12.5% (2018 est.)

other

78.8% (2018 est.)

Location

Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)

Map references

North America

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural hazards

persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard

Natural resources

fish, deepwater ports

Population distribution

most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island

Terrain

mostly barren rock

Age structure

0-14 years

13.1% (male 346/female 328)

15-64 years

61.6% (male 1,559/female 1,600)

65 years and over

25.3% (2024 est.) (male 571/female 728)

Birth rate

6.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

NA

Contraceptive prevalence rate

NA

Current health expenditure

NA

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

64.1% (2023 est.)

Death rate

11.7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Dependency ratios

elderly dependency ratio

25.9

potential support ratio

3.9 (2021)

total dependency ratio

52

youth dependency ratio

26.1

Drinking water source

improved: rural

rural: NA

improved: total

total: 91.4% of population

improved: urban

urban: NA

unimproved: rural

rural: NA

unimproved: total

total: 8.6% of population (2017 est.)

unimproved: urban

urban: NA

Education expenditures

NA

Ethnic groups

Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)

Gross reproduction rate

0.78 (2024 est.)

Infant mortality rate

female

5.8 deaths/1,000 live births

male

9.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total

7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

Languages

Languages

French (official)

major-language sample(s)

The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

female

84.3 years

male

79.5 years

total population

81.8 years (2024 est.)

Literacy

female

NA

male

NA

total population

NA

Major urban areas - population

6,000 SAINT-PIERRE (capital) (2018)

Median age

female

51.9 years

male

50.5 years

total

51.2 years (2024 est.)

Nationality

adjective

French

noun

Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)

Net migration rate

-6.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Physician density

NA

Population

female

2,656 (2024 est.)

male

2,476

total

5,132

Population distribution

most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island

Population growth rate

-1.21% (2024 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Sanitation facility access

improved: rural

rural: NA

improved: total

total: 100% of population

improved: urban

urban: NA

unimproved: rural

rural: NA

unimproved: total

total: 0% of population (2020)

unimproved: urban

urban: NA

Sex ratio

0-14 years

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.78 male(s)/female

at birth

1.06 male(s)/female

total population

0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.6 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

0.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

90.1% of total population (2023)

Administrative divisions

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 2 communes at the second order - Saint Pierre, Miquelon

Capital

daylight saving time

+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November

etymology

named after Saint Peter, the patron saint of fisherman

geographic coordinates

46 46 N, 56 11 W

name

Saint-Pierre

time difference

UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Citizenship

see France

Constitution

amendments

amendment procedures of France's constitution apply

history

4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Country name

conventional long form

Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon

conventional short form

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

etymology

Saint-Pierre is named after Saint PETER, the patron saint of fishermen; Miquelon may be a corruption of the Basque name Mikelon

local long form

Département de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

local short form

Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Dependency status

overseas collectivity of France

Diplomatic representation from the US

embassy

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (overseas territory of France)

Executive branch

cabinet

Le Cabinet du Prefet

chief of state

President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Christian POUGET (since 6 January 2021)

election results

2020: Bernard BRIAND elected President of Territorial Council; Territorial Council vote - 17 for, 2 abstentions2017: Stephane LENORMAND elected President of Territorial Council vote - NA

elections/appointments

French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 April and 24 April 2022 (next to be held in 2027); prefect appointed by French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior; Territorial Council president elected by Territorial Council councilors by absolute majority vote; term NA; election last held on 13 October 2020 (next to be held NA)

head of government

President of Territorial Council Bernard BRIAND (since 13 October 2020)

Flag description

a yellow three-masted sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a blue background with scattered, white, wavy lines under the ship; a continuous black-over-white wavy line divides the ship from the white wavy lines; 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 blue on the main portion of the flag symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the stylized ship represents the Grande Hermine in which Jacques Cartier "discovered" the islands in 1536

note

note: the flag of France used for official occasions

Government type

parliamentary democracy (Territorial Council); overseas collectivity of France

Independence

none (overseas collectivity collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)

International organization participation

UPU, WFTU (NGOs)

Judicial branch

highest court(s)

Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel (composition NA)

judge selection and term of office

judge selection and tenure NA

subordinate courts

NA

Legal system

French civil law

Legislative branch

description

unicameral Territorial Council or Conseil Territorial (19 seats - Saint Pierre 15, Miquelon 4; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 6-year terms)

election results

Territorial Council - percent of vote by party in first round - AD 45.9%, Focus on the Future 37%, Together to Build 17.1%; percent of vote by party in second round - AD 51.8%, Focus on the Future 38.1%, Together to Build 10.1%, seats by party - AD 15, Focus on the Future 4; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%French Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PS 1 (affiliated with UMP)French National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AD 1

elections

Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March and second round held on 27 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2028)French Senate - last held on 27 September 2020 (next to be held no later than September 2025)French National Assembly - last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)

note

note: 1 senator is indirectly elected to the French Senate by an electoral college for a 6-year term, and 1 deputy is directly elected to the French National Assembly for a 5-year term

National anthem

note: as a collectivity of France, "La Marseillaise" is official (see France)

National holiday

Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790)

National symbol(s)

16th-century sailing ship

Political parties

Archipelago Tomorrow (Archipel Domain) or AD (affiliated with The Republicans)Focus on the Future (Cap sur l'Avenir) (affiliated with Left Radical Party)Together to Build (Ensemble pour Construire)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agricultural products

vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Economic overview

high-income, French North American territorial economy; primarily fishing exports; substantial French Government support; highly seasonal labor force; euro user; increasing tourism and aquaculture investments

Exchange rates

Currency

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2019

0.893 (2019 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

0.876 (2020 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

0.845 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

0.95 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

0.925 (2023 est.)

Exports - commodities

processed crustaceans, shellfish, fish, special purpose motor vehicles, vehicle parts/accessories (2022)

note

note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Exports - partners

Canada 84%, France 11%, Ireland 3%, Slovakia 1%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 0% (2022)

note

note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

GDP (official exchange rate)

$261.3 million (2015 est.)

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, packaged medicine, other foods, plastic products, cars (2022)

note

note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Imports - partners

France 52%, Canada 42%, Netherlands 2%, Germany 1%, Belgium 1% (2022)

note

note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

Industries

fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2015

1.5% (2015)

Labor force

4,429 (2015)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

note

note: supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2015

$261.3 million (2015 est.)

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate 2015

8.7% (2015 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

from petroleum and other liquids

59,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

total emissions

59,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

Electricity

consumption

48.714 million kWh (2022 est.)

installed generating capacity

26,000 kW (2022 est.)

transmission/distribution losses

2 million kWh (2022 est.)

Electricity generation sources

fossil fuels

100% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Petroleum

refined petroleum consumption

400 bbl/day (2022 est.)

Broadcast media

8 TV stations, all part of the French Overseas Network, and local cable provided by SPM Telecom; 3 of 4 radio stations on St. Pierre and on Miquelon are part of the French Overseas Network (2021)

Internet country code

.pm

Internet users

percent of population

88.7% (2022 est.)

total

5,099 (2022 est.)

Telecommunication systems

domestic

fixed-line teledensity 76 per 100 persons (2019)

general assessment

adequate (2019)

international

country code - 508; landing point for the St Pierre and Miquelon Cable connecting Saint Pierre & Miquelon and Canada; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; satellite earth station - 1 in French domestic satellite system (2019)

Telephones - fixed lines

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

76 (2015 est.)

total subscriptions

4,800 (2015 est.)

Airports

2 (2024)

Ports

key ports

Miquelon, St. Pierre

ports with oil terminals

1

size unknown

1

small

1

total ports

2 (2024)

Roadways

paved

80 km

total

117 km

unpaved

37 km (2009)

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of France

Climate

cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy

Environment - current issues

overfishing; recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment

Land use

agricultural land

8.7% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 8.7% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest

12.5% (2018 est.)

other

78.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

0.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

90.1% of total population (2023)