OCTA

Overseas Countries
and Territories Association

Menu
Member access
Member access
Accueil / OCTs / OCTs / Saint-Barthelemy
Saint Barth
StBarth-Lagon-Kites-Logo-HD-1 source in middle
Saline-Coucher-Soleil-Etang-Couleurs-12809-HD-Logo source middle

Saint-Barthelemy

Saint-Barthelemy

About Saint-Barthelemy

St Barthélemy-01

Saint-Barthelemy is located at the junction of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, 230 km northwest of Guadeloupe and 25 km southeast of Saint-Martin.
Its surface area is 21 km2 (25 km2 islets included) and its population 9 793 (2018).

The official language is French.

Saint-Barthelemy
in a few numbers

3
BEST2.0 projects
3
Interreg Caribbean projects

Contact

Pascal PEUCHOT
Head of Regional Cooperation in Saint-Barthelemy and Observer member of the Executive Committee of OCTA

pascal.peuchot@comstbarth.fr

Saint-Barthelemy
Environment

LB P-01

It is an arid land with dry hills of volcanic origin, which hosts rare and mostly thorny vegetation. Its arid and rocky soil does not adapt to agriculture. Beaches are rough and full of coves with fine sand. The East coast, which gets more rain, is a lot greener. There are many flower species such as orchids, alpinias, wild plantains and hibiscus.

The climate of Saint Barthelemy island is maritime tropical. There are two seasons: a dry season called lent from December to May and a rainy season called winter from July to October. Temperatures vary from 27 ° in winter to 30 ° in summer.
Although sunshine remains important throughout the year, rainfall remains a very variable aspect of the climate. However, there are more rains during the cyclone season, which is in the winter. It is during this season that the cloud masses moving towards the east may develop into tropical depressions, storms and cyclones.

Political & administrative status

St. Barthelemy is an overseas territory of the French Republic. Its citizens are French citizens. Between 1947 and 2007, St. Barthelemy was administratively attached to Guadeloupe, as a municipality of this department.  The Organic Law of 21 February 2007 has converted the municipality of St. Barthelemy into an overseas collectivity. The Territorial Council is the legislative body and is composed of 19 members elected for five years. The President of the Territorial Council is the executive body whose role is to represent it to third parties, to prepare and execute the resolutions of the Territorial Council and the Executive Council and to chair the Executive Council.

Economic information

The economy of Saint Barthelemy is based upon high-end tourism and duty-free luxury commerce, serving visitors primarily from North America. The luxury hotels and villas host 70,000 visitors each year with another 130,000 arriving by boat. The relative isolation and high cost of living inhibits mass tourism. The construction and public sectors also enjoy significant investment in support of tourism. With limited fresh water resources, all food must be imported, as must all energy resources and most manufactured goods. The tourism sector creates a strong employment demand and attracts labour from Brazil and Portugal. The country’s currency is the euro.

The St Barthelemy Nature Reserve was created to ensure the balance of nature and works in close collaboration with the Community. Its main mission is to raise awareness and, in the field, it fights against poaching and direct damage to the environment.
Saint-Barthélemy’s climate is suitable for the deployment of renewable energy sources. An environmental and energy transition is wanted by the territory, and projects are being carried out in this direction.

GDP: € 0,367 billion (2014)
GDP per capita: € 38 994 (2014)

Participation in EU Programmes

Saint-Barthelemy has been successfully involved in BEST2.0 and Interreg Caribbean.

For more information, click here

President of the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy

Mr. Xavier Lédée is the President of the Territorial Council of Saint-Barthélemy, the deliberative assembly of the overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy. He was elected to head the Territorial Council on April 3, 2022, for a five-year term. Xavier Lédée has placed his mandate under the banner of a dual ambition: to bring the island of Saint-Barthélemy into the modern age while preserving the traditions and authenticity that make this jewel of the Caribbean so successful.

 

Xavier Lédée is particularly distinguished by his involvement in strengthening regional cooperation, in sustainable development and land-use planning projects, as well as in modernizing public services, and more specifically in improving healthcare services for the benefit of the residents and visitors of Saint-Barthélemy.