# The World Factbook (1990)/Guadeloupe

pages 122–123
​Guadeloupe (overseas department of France)
See regional map III
Geography
Total area: 1,780 km²; land area: 1,760 km²
Comparative area: 10 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 14 km with Netherlands Antilles
Coastline: 306 km
Maritime claims:
    Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
    Extended economic zone: 200 nm
    Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: subtropical tempered by trade winds; relatively high humidity
Terrain: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grand-Terre is low limestone formation
Natural resources: cultivable land, beaches, and climate that foster tourism
Land use: 18% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures; 40% forest and woodland; 24% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to hurricanes (June to October); La Soufrière is an active volcano
Note: located 500 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 342,175 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
​Nationality: noun—Guadeloupian(s); adjective—Guadeloupe
Ethnic divisions: 90% black or mulatto; 5% white; less than 5% East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic, 5% Hindu and pagan African
Language: French, Creole patois
Literacy: over 70%
Labor force: 120,000; 53.0% services, government, and commerce, 25.8% industry, 21.2% agriculture
Organized labor: 11% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Department of Guadeloupe
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Basse-Terre
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Executive branch: government commissioner
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral Regional Council
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel) with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Leaders: Chief of State—President François MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981);
Head of Government—Commissioner of the Republic Jean-Paul PROUST (since November 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Marlène Captant; Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Christian Medard Celeste; Socialist Party (PSG), Dominique Larifla; Independent Republicans; Union for French Democracy (UDF); Union for a New Majority (UNM)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: General Council—last held NA 1986 (next to be held by NA 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(42 total) number of seats by party NA;
Regional Council—last held on 16 March 1986 (next to be held by 16 March 1992); results RPR 33.1%, PS 28.7%, PCG 23.8%, UDF 10.7%, others 3.8%; seats—(41 total) RPR 15, PS 12, PCG 10, UDF 4;
French Senate—last held on 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects two representatives; results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(2 total) PCG 1, PS 1;
French National Assembly—last held on 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held June 1994); Guadeloupe elects four representatives; results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(4 total) PS 2 seats, RPR 1 seat, PCG 1 seat
Communists: 3,000 est.
Other political or pressure groups: Popular Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG); Popular Movement for Independent Guadeloupe (MPGI); General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG); General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers (CGTG); Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (KLPG)
Member of: WFTU
Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France, the interests of Guadeloupe are represented in the US by France
Flag: the flag of France is used
Economy
Overview: The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It is also dependent upon France for large subsidies and income and social transfers. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US. In addition, an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditionally important 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, which comes mainly from France. Light industry consists mostly of sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young.
GDP: $1.1 billion, per capita $3,300; real growth rate NA% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.0% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1983)
Budget: revenues $251 million; expenditures $251 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1985)
Exports: $109 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities—bananas, sugar, rum; partners—France 72%, Martinique 16% (1984)
Imports: $792 million (c.i.f., 1986); commodities—vehicles, foodstuffs, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum products; partners—France 59% (1984)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 103,000 kW capacity; 315 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism
Agriculture: cash crops—bananas and sugarcane; other products include tropical fruits and vegetables; livestock—cattle, pigs, and goats; not self-sufficient in food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $4 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.7 billion
Currency: French franc (plural—francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1—5.7598 (January 1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines
Highways: 1,940 km total; 1,600 km paved, 340 km gravel and earth
Ports: Pointe-a-Pitre, Basse-Terre
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 9 total, 9 usable, 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities inadequate; 57,300 telephones; interisland radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique; stations—2 AM, 8 FM (30 private stations licensed to broadcast FM), 9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT ground station
Defense Forces
Note: defense is responsibility of France