Économie numérique et développement territorial en Caraïbe francophone: Analyse comparative de Haïti, de la Guadeloupe et de la Martinique

<i>A comparative analysis of Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique</i>

Abstract

This article examines the conditions under which the digital economy can become a credible driver of territorial development in the French-speaking Caribbean. Based on a qualitative and documentary comparison of Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique, it argues that connectivity does not automatically generate development. Digitalization becomes a territorial resource only when it is linked to resilient infrastructure, coherent public governance, social and professional skills, innovation systems and effective regional cooperation. The paper combines insights from digital economy studies, territorial development, island studies, institutional capacity, data governance and territorial embeddedness. It draws on a reasoned corpus of academic literature, public reports and institutional data mainly published between 2018 and 2026, coded through four analytical dimensions: infrastructure, governance, skills/uses and innovation/integration. The findings reveal a strong asymmetry between the French Caribbean territories, which benefit from French and European policy frameworks, and Haiti, where insecurity, institutional fragility, investment constraints and weak public services limit the productive appropriation of digital technologies. However, the article argues that the French-speaking Caribbean can build a regional digital development pathway if policies move beyond infrastructure deployment and develop multilevel governance of connectivity, data, skills, entrepreneurship and digital public services.