Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation.

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1,128 km². It is an overseas department of France.

As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is also one of the 26 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic.

As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro.

Its official language is French, although almost all of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).

Martinique is pictured on all euro banknotes, on the reverse at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomination.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 432,900 (July 2005 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 49,112/female 47,697) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 145,531/female 145,250) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 20,423/female 24,887) (2005 est.)

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Median age: total: 33.61 years male: 32.95 years female: 34.28 years (2005 est.)

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Population growth rate: 0.76% (2005 est.)

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Birth rate: 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Net migration rate: -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.04 years male: 79.43 years female: 78.64 years (2005 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais

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Ethnic groups: African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5%

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Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997)

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Languages: French, Creole patois

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.)

The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. 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, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange.

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GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.117 billion (2003 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: NA%

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GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2003 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1990)

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Labor force: 165,900 (1998)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997)

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Unemployment rate: 27.2% (1998)

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Budget: revenues: $900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996)

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Agriculture - products: pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane

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Industries: construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Electricity - production: 1.178 billion kWh (2002)

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Electricity - consumption: 1.095 billion kWh (2002)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 13,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA

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Oil - imports: NA

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Exports: $250 million f.o.b. (1997)

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Exports - commodities: refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.)

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Exports - partners: France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000)

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Imports: $2 billion c.i.f. (1997)

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Imports - commodities: petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods

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Imports - partners: France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000)

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Debt - external: $180 million (1994)

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Economic aid - recipient: NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998)

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Currency: euro (EUR)

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Currency code: EUR

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Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8089 (2004), 0.8860 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)

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Fiscal year: calendar year