]! ^! 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 `* 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 `N 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 ^. `' 12.5% `( 0% `) 87.5% (2005) ^/ NA ^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 7,036 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 23% (male 827/female 790) `, 65.9% (male 2,352/female 2,288) `- 11.1% (male 359/female 420) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 34.6 years `. 34.1 years `/ 35 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.128% (2007 est.) ^7 13.08 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -4.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.04 male(s)/female `1 1.047 male(s)/female `, 1.028 male(s)/female `- 0.855 male(s)/female `2 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births `. 8.26 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 78.76 years `. 76.41 years `/ 81.23 years (2007 est.) ^= 2 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) `4 French ^B Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) ^C Roman Catholic 99%, other 1% ^D French (official) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 99% `. 99% `/ 99% (1982 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon `7 Saint Pierre and Miquelon `Z Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon `[ Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ^G self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France ^H NA ^I `8 Saint-Pierre `9 46 46 N, 56 11 W `: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November ^J none (territorial overseas 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 `; President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); represented by Prefect Yves FAUQUEUR (since 28 August 2006) `< President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) `= NA `> French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 April 2002 (first round) and 5 May 2002 (second round) (next to be held in 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 four from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) `> elections last held 19 and 26 in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2012) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AD 16, Cap sur l'Avenir 2, SPM Ensemble 1 `* Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect one seat to the French Senate; elections last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2013); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects one seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1 ^R Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel ^S Archipelago Tomorrow or AD affiliated with UDF/RPR list; Cap sur l'Avenir affiliated with PRG; Left Radical Party or PRG; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP); Saint Pierre and Miquelon 2000/Avenir Miquelon or SPM 2000/AM; Socialist Party or PS; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF ^T NA ^U UPU, WFTU ^V none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) ^W none (territorial overseas 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. France heavily subsidizes the islands to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Fish farming, crab fishing, and agriculture are being developed to diversify the local economy. 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 ^\ NA% ^] $7,000 (2001 est.) ^^ `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^_ 3,450 (2005) ^` `@ 18% `A 41% `B 41% (1996 est.) ^a 10.3% (1999) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 8.1% (2005) _$ `E $70 million `F $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% _) 50 million kWh (2004) _* 46.5 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 500 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $5.5 million f.o.b. (2005 est.) _4 fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts _5 Spain 33.6%, Belgium 21.8%, India 18.3%, France 9.4%, US 7.5% (2005) _6 $68.2 million f.o.b. (2005 est.) _7 meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials _8 France 51.3%, Canada 31.8%, Belgium 4.1% (2005) _9 $NA _: approximately $60 million in annual grants from France _; euro (EUR) _< euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 4,800 (2002) _@ `G adequate `H NA `I country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; satellite earth station - 1 in French domestic satellite system _A AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) _B 0 (2 repeaters rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997) _C .pm _D 0 (2006) _E NA 
]' _F 2 (2006) _G `! 2 `b 1 `c 1 (2006) _I Saint-Pierre 
]( _M defense is the responsibility of France 
]) _N none 