Saint Pierre and Miquelon

LOCATION

Background: First settled by the French in the early 17th century, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. They attained the status of an overseas collectivity in 2003.

Location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)
Geographic coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 W
Map references: North America
Area: total: 242 sq km
land: 242 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.
Land boundaries: total: 0 km
Coastline: 120 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy
Terrain: mostly barren rock
Elevation: highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports
Land use: agricultural land: 8.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 8.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
forest: 5% (2023 est.)
other: 86.3% (2023 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (2022)
Population distribution: most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island
Natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard
Geography - note: vegetation scanty; the islands are part of the northern Appalachians, along with Newfoundland

Population: total: 5,070 (2025 est.)
male: 2,442
female: 2,628
Nationality: noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French
Ethnic groups: Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)
Languages: Languages: French (official)
major-language sample(s): The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
Age structure: 0-14 years: 13.1% (male 346/female 328)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 1,559/female 1,600)
65 years and over: 25.3% (2024 est.) (male 571/female 728)
Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 63.3 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 21 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 42.3 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio: 2.4 (2025 est.)
Median age: total: 51.8 years (2025 est.)
male: 50.5 years
female: 51.9 years
Population growth rate: -1.24% (2025 est.)
Birth rate: 6.31 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate: 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Population distribution: most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island
Urbanization: urban population: 90.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population: 6,000 SAINT-PIERRE (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
male: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 81.8 years (2024 est.)
male: 79.5 years
female: 84.3 years
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate: 0.79 (2025 est.)
Sanitation facility access: improved: total: total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total: total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49): 65.2% (2020 est.)

Environmental issues: overfishing
Climate: cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy
Land use: agricultural land: 8.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 8.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
forest: 5% (2023 est.)
other: 86.3% (2023 est.)
Urbanization: urban population: 90.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 57,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 57,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

Country name: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon
local long form: Département de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
etymology: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is reputed to be named after two navigators, one called Peter and one called Michael (in a nickname form) or Mikelon, a Basque name
Government type: parliamentary democracy (Territorial Council); overseas collectivity of France
Dependency status: overseas collectivity of France
Capital: name: Saint-Pierre
geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
etymology: may be named after Saint Peter, the patron saint of fisherman; alternatively, the name may come from one of the two navigators for whom the island as a whole is named
Administrative divisions: no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US government, but 2 communes are considered second-order: Saint Pierre, Miquelon
Legal system: French civil law
Constitution: history: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
amendment process: amendment procedures of France's constitution apply
Citizenship: see France
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Bruno ANDRE (since September 2023)
head of government: President of Territorial Council Marc DIDIO (since 12 January 2026)
cabinet: Le Cabinet du Préfet
election/appointment process: French president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prefect appointed by French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior; Territorial Council president elected by Territorial Council councilors by absolute majority vote; term NA
most recent election date: 13 October 2020
election results: 2020: Bernard BRIAND elected President of Territorial Council; Territorial Council vote - 17 for, 2 abstentions2017: Stephane LENORMAND elected President of Territorial Council vote - NA
Legislative branch: legislature name: Territorial Council (Conseil Territorial)
legislative structure: unicameral
number of seats: 19 (directly elected)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 6 years
most recent election date: 3/27/2022
parties elected and seats per party: AD (15); Focus on the Future (4)
expected date of next election: March 2028
Judicial branch: highest court(s): Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Supérieur d'Appel (composition NA)
judge selection and term of office: judge selection and tenure NA
Political parties: Archipelago Tomorrow (Archipel Domain) or AD (affiliated with The Republicans)Focus on the Future (Cap sur l'Avenir) (affiliated with Left Radical Party)Together to Build (Ensemble pour Construire)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)
International organization participation: UPU, WFTU (NGOs)
Independence: none (overseas collectivity collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)
National holiday: Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790)
Flag: description: a yellow three-masted sailing ship facing the left side rides on a blue background with wavy white lines; a black-over-white wavy line divides the ship from the white wavy lines; on the left side, a vertical band is divided into three heraldic arms: the top (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners and overlaid with a white cross, the middle is white with an ermine pattern, and the bottom is red with two yellow lions outlined in blackmeaning: the arms represent settlers from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy in France; blue symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean, and the ship represents explorer Jacques Cartier's ship when he visited the islands in 1536
National symbol(s): 16th-century sailing ship
National anthem(s): title: "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)
lyrics/music: Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle
history: official anthem, as a French collectivity

Economic overview: high-income, French North American territorial economy; primarily fishing exports; substantial French Government support; highly seasonal labor force; euro user; increasing tourism and aquaculture investments
Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2015: $261.3 million (2015 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $261.3 million (2015 est.)
Agricultural products: vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Industries: fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism
Exports - partners: Canada 78%, Ireland 5%, France 5%, Djibouti 4%, UK 2% (2023)
Exports - commodities: processed crustaceans, shellfish (2023)
Imports - partners: France 57%, Canada 37%, Netherlands 3%, Belgium 2%, Spain 0% (2023)
Imports - commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicine, cars, plastic products, other foods (2023)
Exchange rates: Currency: euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates 2024: 0.924 (2024 est.)
Exchange rates 2023: 0.925 (2023 est.)
Exchange rates 2022: 0.95 (2022 est.)
Exchange rates 2021: 0.845 (2021 est.)
Exchange rates 2020: 0.876 (2020 est.)

Electricity: installed generating capacity: 26,000 kW (2023 est.)
consumption: 48.714 million kWh (2023 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 2 million kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Petroleum: refined petroleum consumption: 400 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 4,800 (2015 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 76 (2015 est.)
Broadcast media: 8 TV stations, all part of the French Overseas Network, and local cable provided by SPM Telecom; 3 of 4 radio stations are part of the French Overseas Network (2021)
Internet country code: .pm
Internet users: percent of population: 88.7% (2022 est.)

Airports: 2 (2025)
Ports: total ports: 2 (2024)
large: 0
medium: 0
small: 1
very small: 0
size unknown: 1
ports with oil terminals: 1
key ports: Miquelon, St. Pierre

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France