French Southern and Antarctic Lands (overseas territory of France)
_French_Southern_and_Antarctic_Lands.jpg)
See regional map I
Geography
Total area: 7,781 km²; land area: 7,781
km²; includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul,
Îles Kerguelen, and Îles Crozet;
excludes claim not recognized by the US of
about 500,000 km² in Antarctica known
as Terre Adélie
Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,232 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 12 nm
- Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claim in Antarctica (Terre Adélie) not recognized by the US
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: volcanic
Natural resources: fish, crayfish
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes
Note: located in the southern Indian Ocean about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia
People
Population: 210 (July 1990), growth rate
0.00% (1990); mostly researchers
Government
Long-form name: Territory of the French
Southern and Antarctic Lands
Type: overseas territory of France governed by High Administrator Claude CORBIER (since NA 1988)
Flag: the flag of France is used
Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to
servicing meteorological and geophysical
research stations and French and other
fishing fleets. The fishing catches landed
on Îles Kerguelen by foreign ships are
exported to France and Reunion.
Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Merchant marine: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 217,203 GRT/348,632 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 2 bulk; note—a subset of the French register
Telecommunications: NA
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of
France
Gabon
_Gabon.jpg)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 267,670 km²; land area:
257,670 km²
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries: 2,551 km total; Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km
Coastline: 885 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 24 nm
- Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary with Equatorial Guinea
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
Natural resources: crude oil, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Land use: 1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 78% forest and woodland; 2% other
Environment: deforestation
People
Population: 1,068,240 (July 1990), growth
rate 0.8% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 106 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 56 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective—Gabonese
Ethnic divisions: about 40 Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke); about 100,000 expatriate Africans and Europeans, including 27,000 French
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