According to a 2013 census, St. Barthélemy had 9,279 inhabitants. Gustavia, a name which reminds residents and visitors of the island’s Swedish past, is the main town and functions as the capital.
The dry and rocky nature of the island makes agricultural production difficult. Duty-free port attractions, retail trade, high-end tourism from North America, and luxury hotels and villas have increased the island’s prosperity, reflected in the high standard of living of its citizens.
International investment and the wealth generated by tourists explain the high standard of living on the island. Most of the food is imported from the US or France. Tourism attracts about 200,000 visitors every year.
The height of tourism is New Year’s Eve, with celebrities and the wealthy converging on the island in yachts up to 550 feet (170 metres) in length for the occasion.
St. Barthélemy has a small airport known as Gustaf III Airport on the north coast of the island that is served by small regional commercial aircraft and charters.
The nearest airport with a runway length sufficient to land a typical commercial jet airliner is on the neighboring island of Sint Maarten: Princess Juliana International Airport, which acts as a hub, providing connecting flights with regional carriers to St. Barthélemy.
In addition to air service, many inter-island ferry services operate regularly between St. Martin and St. Barthélemy.
The narrow and congested roads, and difficulty in parking, have been an impetus for driving Smart cars.
As is the case of all of the constituent components of Overseas France, the official flag of St. Barthélemy is the French tricolor.
However, as is also true of most all of areas of Overseas France, there is a commonly seen unofficial flag consisting of the island’s coat of arms centered on a white field.
The coat of arms of Saint Barthélemy is a shield divided into three horizontal stripes, three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, above a white Maltese cross on red, over three gold crowns on blue, and “Ouanalao” is what the indigenous people called the island. On top of the shield is a mural crown.
The fleurs-de-lis, Maltese Cross, and gold crowns are heraldic reminders of the island’s history as a colony ruled by first the Kingdom of France, then the Knights Hospitaller and in turn the Kingdom of Sweden.
In our next post we will move only slightly from Saint Barthélemy when we visit one of the last of the Overseas France areas, also in the Caribbean, also small, and likely much less well known than Saint Barthélemy. Stay tuned.