Saint Barthelemy

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Saint Barthelemy's Information


Capital	Gustavia
Languages	French (primary), English
Ethnic Groups	White, Creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia)
Religion	Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah's Witnesses
Independance	None (overseas collectivity of France)
Area	25.00 km²
Land Area	25.00 km²
Population	7,209.00 Most of the populace concentrated in and around the capital of Gustavia, but scattered settlements exist around the island periphery
Location	Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean; located in the Leeward Islands (northern) group; Saint Barthelemy lies east of the US Virgin Islands
Climate	Tristan da Cunha:?temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)
Terrain	Hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with plentiful beaches

Where is Saint Barthelemy?

Located in the Caribbean, Saint Barthelemy is an island nation.

Gustavia is the capital city and main town of Saint Barthelemy. The city was named in 1784 after King Gustav III of Sweden after claiming it from France. Prior to that, Gustav was called Le Carénage and acted as a site for destroyed ships. The city has a population of 2,300 people most of whom are descendants of the Norman and Breton settlers of the 1600s. The capital’s climate is tropical savanna. The year is divided into two seasons - the dry season and a more humid summer between May and November. Over this season, the sun shines all through with brief episodes of light showers. Due to the small surface area, Gustavia enjoys the cool trade winds. The mean air and water temperatures lie at 27 °C with little variations.

Geography

Saint Barthelemy has a mean elevation of 0 m above sea level.

The islands all have a subtropical marine climate. The terrain is hilly, with beaches and shallow-water reefs.

Population

Saint Barthelemy has a population of 7,209 making it the 225th largest in the world. The majority of the population can be found in and around the capital of Gustavia.

French is the primary language spoken. The major ethnic groups reported are white, Creole, and black. The majority of the country identifies as Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jehovah's Witness.

The official language of the island is French. A significant percentage of the older generation on the island have a working knowledge of the Saint Barthelemy Patois. French was declared a national language by the 1958 constitution under article 2. Patois the Creole dialect which has borrowed a lot from French is used by the majority of the population on the leeward region of the Island while the French Creole is restricted to the windward region of the Island. The Guadeloupe Creole is mostly used in the capital city of the Island. About 7.5% of the population can converse in Patois, while over 90% of the population can converse in French. Since the Island is located around the English-speaking region of the Caribbean, over 70% of the population can converse in English.

The dialing code for the country is 590.

Government

It is an overseas collectivity of France. Its constitution was last ratified in 1958.

Saint Barthelemy is an Overseas Collectivity of France or as it is known in French, Collectivité d’outre mer de Saint-Barthélemy. Despite being a part of France, it is relatively autonomous. The Executive is made up of the Head of State who is the French President and his local prefect, secondly, the island’s Head of Government who is the President of the Territorial Council which is the Legislative Branch and lastly, the Executive Council whose members are chosen by the Territorial Council. The Head of State is elected by the people of France and is only eligible to two five-year terms.

Flag

The flag of Saint Barthelemy is white with the coat of arms in the middle. Colors on the coat of arms were originally adopted from the French Tricolor because the island is an overseas collectivity of France. In 1977, the French government asked the local municipalities to adopt an urban symbolic mark, which led to the designing of the coat of arms. Mireille, the designer kept the commercial rights of the design and later sold it to the municipality for 90,000 FRF. The Tricolor has been the Islands official flag since 1785-2007. It was not in use from 1785-1878 when the island was owned by Sweden.