NA
Capital:
Basse-Terre
Administrative divisions:
none (overseas department of France)
Independence:
none (overseas department of France)
National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system:
French legal system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by Prefect Paul GIROT DE LANGLADE (since 17
August 2004)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT
(since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin
LUREL (since 2 April 2004)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the
French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and
Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
election results: NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the
unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held
by NA 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be
held NA 2010)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6,
right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second
round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by
party - PS 29, UMP 12
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate;
elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013);
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe
elects four representatives to the French National Assembly;
elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007);
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1,
different right parties 1
Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe,
French Guiana, and Martinique
Political parties and leaders:
Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique
LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive
Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS
[Marlene MELISSE and Favrot DAVRAIN]; Union for French Democracy or
UDF [Marcel ESDRAS]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including
RPR) [Robert JOYEUX]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG;
General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of
Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or
MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement
International organization participation:
WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas department of France)
Flag description:
the flag of France is used
Economy Guadeloupe
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 - real growth rate:
NA%
GDP
