]! ^! First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. 
]" ^" Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) ^# 46 50 N, 56 20 W ^$ North America ^% `! 242 sq km `" 242 sq km `# 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups ^& 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 120 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy ^+ mostly barren rock ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m ^- fish, deepwater ports ^. `' 13.04% `( 0% `) 86.96% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard ^1 recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment ^2 vegetation scanty 
]# ^3 7,012 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 24% (male 861/female 825) `+ 65.3% (male 2,330/female 2,251) `, 10.6% (male 335/female 410) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 33.7 years `- 33.39 years `. 33.96 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.21% (2005 est.) ^7 13.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -4.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.06 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.04 male(s)/female `, 0.82 male(s)/female `1 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 7.54 deaths/1,000 live births `- 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 78.46 years `- 76.13 years `. 80.9 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.03 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) `3 French ^B Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) ^C Roman Catholic 99% ^D French (official) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 99% `- 99% `. 99% (1982 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon `5 Saint Pierre and Miquelon `V Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon `W Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ^G self-governing territorial collectivity of France ^H NA ^I Saint-Pierre ^J none (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order ^K none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) ^L Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) ^M 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) ^N French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing and taxation ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Albert DUPUY (since 10 January 2005) `7 President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) `8 NA `9 French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, first round - 21 April 2002, second round - 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council ^Q unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) `9 elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA April 2006) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UDF 1 ^R Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel ^S Left Radical Party or PRG [leader NA]; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP) [leader NA]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA] ^T NA ^U UPU, WFTU ^V none (territorial collectivity of France) ^W none (territorial collectivity of France) ^X a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions 
]% ^Y The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector. ^Z $48.3 million - supplemented by annual payments from France of about $60 million (2003 est.) ^[ NA% ^\ purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.) ^] `; NA% `< NA% `= NA% ^^ 3,261 (1999) ^_ fishing 18%, industry (mainly fish-processing) 41%, services 41% (1996 est.) ^` 9.8% (1997) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 2.1% (1991-96 average) _# `@ $70 million `A $60 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) _$ vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish _% fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism _& NA% _' 43.08 million kWh (2002) _( 40.06 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 600 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $10 million f.o.b. (2002) _0 fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts _1 Belgium 41.3%, US 19.9%, Spain 14.9%, France 10%, Germany 4.1% (2004) _2 $106 million f.o.b. (2002) _3 meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials _4 France 37.6%, Canada 25.3%, Ireland 25.2%, Italy 5.1% (2004) _5 $NA _6 approximately $60 million in annual grants from France _7 euro (EUR) _8 euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 4,800 (2002) _; 0 (1994) _< `B adequate `C NA `D country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system _= AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997) _? .pm _A NA 
]' _B `! 114 km `E 69 km `F 45 km _C Saint-Pierre _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _G defense is the responsibility of France 
]) _H none 