Overview: The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by the servicing of fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because the number of ships stopping at St. Pierre has steadily dropped over the years. Since October 1987 a dispute between France and Canada over cod quotas and territorial limits has confined St. Pierre's fishing trawlers to the islands' 200-mile extended economic zone, where the fish catch, particularly cod, has been sparse. Consequently, fish exports have virtually ceased. (The fleet is barred by Canada from using Canadian waters, its traditional fishing grounds.) The islands are heavily subsidized by France. Imports come primarily from Canada.

GDP: $NA, per capita $2,495 (1984); real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $5.6 million; expenditures $5.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1987)

Exports: $5.8 million (f.o.b., 1983); @m5commodities--fish and fish products, fox and mink pelts; @m5partners--US 58%, France 17%, UK 11%, Canada, Portugal

Imports: $37.0 million (c.i.f., 1983); @m5commodities--meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials; @m5partners--Canada, France, US, Netherlands, UK

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 10,000 kW capacity; 25 million kWh produced, 3,990 kWh per capita (1988)

Industries: fishing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism

Agriculture: vegetables, cattle, sheep and pigs for local consumption

Aid: $22.5 million from France (1981)

Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--6.2503 (January 1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding St. Pierre and Miquelon on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of St. Pierre and Miquelon Economy 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about St. Pierre and Miquelon Economy 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.