世界各国

Guadeloupe

Introduction to Guadeloupe

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

Government

Capital:

Basse-Terre

National holiday:

Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Economy

Economy overview:

The Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional 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, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $3.513 billion (2003 est.) 

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 15%
industry: 17%
services: 68% (1997 est.)

Agriculture products:

bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats 

Industries:

construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Transportation

Highways:

total: 2,467 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km (1998)

Ports and harbors:

Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre

Merchant marine:

total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,240 GRT/109 DWT
registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: France 1
by type: passenger 1

Airports:

9 (2003 est.)