Economy of Martinique
Encyclopedia
The economy of Martinique
is based on trade. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar
production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum
. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration.
:
real exchange rate - US$9.61 billion (in 2006)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (in 2006)
GDP - per capita:
real exchange rate - US$24,118 (in 2006)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
6%
industry:
11%
services:
83% (1997 est.)
line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Labor force:
165 900 (1998)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997)
Unemployment rate:
27.2% (1998)
Budget:
revenues:
$900 million
expenditures:
$2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996)
construction, rum
, cement
, petroleum
refining, sugar
, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
- production:
1,205 GWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel
:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear
:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
1,000 GWh (1998)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)
products:
pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane
Exports:
US$957 million (in 2005)
Exports - commodities:
refined petroleum
products, bananas, rum, pineapples
Exports - partners:
France
45%, Guadeloupe
28% (1997)
Imports:
US$3,098 billion (in 2005)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods
Imports - partners:
France
62%, Venezuela
6%, Germany
4%, Italy
4%, US
3% (1997)
Debt - external:
$180 million (1994)
Economic aid - recipient:
Martinique receives substantial annual aid from France.
1 euro
(€) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
euro
s per US
$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
is based on trade. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration.
Gross domestic product
GDPGross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
:
real exchange rate - US$9.61 billion (in 2006)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (in 2006)
GDP - per capita:
real exchange rate - US$24,118 (in 2006)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
6%
industry:
11%
services:
83% (1997 est.)
Demographics
Population below povertyPoverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Labor force:
165 900 (1998)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997)
Unemployment rate:
27.2% (1998)
Budget:
revenues:
$900 million
expenditures:
$2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996)
Industries
Industries:construction, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
refining, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Infrastructure
ElectricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
- production:
1,205 GWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
1,000 GWh (1998)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture
AgriculturalAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
products:
pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane
Exports:
US$957 million (in 2005)
Exports - commodities:
refined petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
products, bananas, rum, pineapples
Exports - partners:
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
45%, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
28% (1997)
Imports:
US$3,098 billion (in 2005)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods
Imports - partners:
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
62%, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
6%, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
4%, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
4%, US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
3% (1997)
Debt - external:
$180 million (1994)
Economic aid - recipient:
Martinique receives substantial annual aid from France.
Economics
CurrencyCurrency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
1 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
(€) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s per US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995)
Fiscal year:
calendar year