Basic Information About Saint Pierre and Miquelon :

Population: The population of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is 6,307.

GDP:  $215.3 million (2006)

Climate:  The mild winters for being a subarctic climate also means it has influences of subpolar oceanic climate, thus being at the confluence of three climatic types. The February mean is just below the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm for that classification. Due to just three months being above 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperatures and winter lows being so mild, climate classification of the islands is difficult and therefore both subarctic and humid continental could be applied in the absence of alternatives. Typical maritime seasonal lag is also strong with September being much milder than June during the summer solstice. The average temperature is 5.3 °C, with a temperature range of 19 °C between the warmest (15.7 °C in August) and coldest months (−3.6 °C in February). Precipitation is abundant (1,312 mm per year) and regular (146 days per year), falling as snow and rain. Because of its location at the confluence of the cold waters of the Labrador Current and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the archipelago is also crossed a hundred days a year by fog banks, mainly in June and July.

People:  Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)

Religion:  The majority of the population is Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Iles Saint-Pierre and Miquelon manages the local church. Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Capital:  Saint-Pierre is the capital and largest city of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Language:  The inhabitants speak French; their customs and traditions are similar to the ones found in metropolitan France. The French spoken on the archipelago is closer to Metropolitan French than to Canadian French but maintains a number of unique features. Basque, formerly spoken in private settings by people of Basque ancestry, disappeared from the island by the late 1950s.

Currency:  The official currency in Saint-Pierre & Miquelon is the Euro (€).

Time Zone: UTC-03:00