Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe Background

Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe Information

• Population: 444,515 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Guadeloupian(s) adjective: Guadeloupe
• Location:: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico
• Religions:: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1%
• Ethnic Groups:: black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
• Land Boundaries:: total: 10.2 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km
• Area: total: 1,780 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
• Coast Line: 306 km
• 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
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Land Use: arable land: 11.24% permanent crops: 3.55% other: 85.21% (2001)
• Environmental Issues: NA
• Natural Resources: cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism
• Highways: total: 2,467 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1998)
• Railways:
• Ports & Harbours: Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre
• Airports: 9 (2003 est.)