Overseas Countries
and Territories Association
Overseas Countries
and Territories Association
Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Canadian coast. It consists of several islands and islets. Its surface area is 242 km2 and its population 6008 (2016).
The official language is French.
Olivier Gaston
Director of Public Affairs for Saint-Pierre-and Miquelon
Observer member of the Executive Committee of OCTA
The archipelago is a group of islands spanning the boundaries of the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to Newfoundland. From a geological point of view, its general orientation is northeast-southwest. The archipelago is not surrounded by large pits except the submarine Valley to the east separating it from Newfoundland. The highest point of the Archipelago is located in Miquelon: Morne de la Grande Montagne with an altitude of 240 meters.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon has a cold and humid maritime climate under the dominant influence of the sea. The average annual temperature is 5.4°C but reaches an average of 15.5°C in the hottest month (August) and -3.3°C in the coldest month (February). Extremely variable wind is a determining factor in the climate of the archipelago.
The flora includes about 600 species of vascular plants, of which about 500 are native, as well as 177 species of mosses and several hundred species of lichens. More than 300 species of birds, both resident and migratory, fill the skies of the archipelago.
Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon is a French overseas collectivity since the organic law of 21 February 2007. Its local power is exercised by the Territorial Council, whose 19 members are elected for 5 years by universal suffrage, and its President. The sector of taxation and customs, and the powers conferred upon the French regions and departments are within the competence of the territory. The State is represented by the Prefect. The law of the French Republic is directly applicable to the territory.
The development of the seafood sector remains a major route of diversification for the archipelago: fishing, processing and aquaculture play an important role in the economy of the islands.
The building and construction sector is also an important part in the economy of the archipelago and is strongly dependent on public procurement. Tourism is a sector that tends to develop and is the main challenge for the years to come.
The Territorial Council has chosen to rely on an inter-structural cell to coordinate the implementation of its Strategic Development Scheme 2010-2030. The territorial engineering and organisational cell combines many organisations essential to sustainable development of the territory. Focused on the political land technical level, the Strategic Development Scheme has been gradually established as a reference to guide stakeholders in their coordinated economic development efforts.
A project to renovate the current production and energy management facilities is being studied to promote the inclusion, in particular, of wind power in the energy mix of the territory. Renewable energies should account for up to 50% of the archipelago’s energy mix by 2023.
GDP: € 240 million (2015)
GDP per capita: € 24 463 (2015)
Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon has been successfully involved in BEST2.0.
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