"text":"Discovered in 1493 by Christopher COLUMBUS who named it for his brother Bartolomeo, Saint Barthelemy was first settled by the French in 1648. In 1784, the French sold the island to Sweden, which renamed the largest town Gustavia, after the Swedish King GUSTAV III, and made it a free port; the island prospered as a trade and supply center during the colonial wars of the 18th century. France repurchased the island in 1877 and took control the following year. It was placed under the administration of Guadeloupe. Saint Barthelemy retained its free port status along with various Swedish appellations such as Swedish street and town names, and the three-crown symbol on the coat of arms. In 2003, the islanders voted to secede from Guadeloupe, and in 2007, the island became a French overseas collectivity. In 2012, it became an overseas territory of the EU, allowing it to exert local control over the permanent and temporary immigration of foreign workers including non-French European citizens. Hurricane Irma hit the island in September 2017 causing extensive damage, but Saint Barthelemy recovered by early 2018."
"text":"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"
"text":"most of the populace concentrated in and around the capital of Gustavia, but scattered settlements exist around the island periphery"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"a 1,200-hectare marine nature reserve, the Reserve Naturelle, is made up of five zones around the island that form a network to protect the island's coral reefs, seagrass, and endangered marine species"
"text":"<br>The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"land-based pollution; urbanization; with no natural rivers or streams, fresh water is in short supply, especially in summer, and is provided by the desalination of sea water, the collection of rain water, or imported via water tanker; overfishing"
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid)"
"text":"named in honor of King Gustav III (1746-1792) of Sweden during whose reign the island was obtained from France in 1784; the name was retained when in 1878 the island was sold back to France"
"text":"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 the French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior; president of Territorial Council indirectly elected by its members for a 5-year term; election last held on 27 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027)"
"text":"<em>2022:</em> Xavier LEDEE (Saint Barth United) elected president; Territorial Council vote - 13 votes for, 6 blank votes<br><em>2017: </em>Bruno MAGRAS (Saint Barth First) elected president; Territorial Council vote - 14 out of 19 votes"
"text":"unicameral Territorial Council (19 seats; members elected by absolute majority vote in the first-round vote and proportional representation vote in the second round; members serve 5-year terms); Saint Barthelemy indirectly elects 1 senator to the French Senate by an electoral college for a 6-year term and directly elects 1 deputy (shared with Saint Martin) to the French National Assembly"
"text":"Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027); second round held on 27 March 2022<br>French Senate - election last held on 24 September 2020 (next to be held in September 2023) <br>French National Assembly - election last held on 12 and 19 June 2022 (next to be held by June 2027)"
"text":"Territorial Council - percent of vote by party (first round) - SBA 46.2%, Saint Barth Action Equilibre 27.1%, Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 26.8%; percent of vote by party (second round) - Saint Barth Action Equilibre and Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 50.9%, SBA 49.2%, seats by party - Saint Barth Action Equilibre and Unis pour Saint Barthelemy 13, SBA 6; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA<br>French Senate - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1 <br>French National Assembly - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1"
"text":"All for Saint Barth (Tous pour Saint-Barth) [Bettina COINTRE]<br>Saint Barth Action Equilibre [Marie-Hélène BERNIER]<br>Saint Barth First! (Saint-Barth d'Abord!) or SBA [Romaric MAGRAS] (affiliated with France's Republican party, Les Republicans)<br>Saint Barth United (Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy) [Xavier LEDEE]"
"text":"high-income French Caribbean territorial economy; duty-free luxury commerce and tourism industries; import-dependent for food, water, energy, and manufacturing; large Brazilian and Portuguese labor supply; environmentally fragile"
"text":"country code - 590; landing points for the SSCS and the Southern Caribbean Fiber submarine cables providing voice and data connectivity to numerous Caribbean Islands (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
