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Location : 2 twin islands of a butterfly shape, “La Grande Terre”
& “La Basse Terre” are forming the French West Indies surrounded
by the Atlantic Ocean to the East and by the Carribean Sea to the West.
The Island was discovered by Christophus Colombus in 1493.
Area : 1.780
km2
Regroups 7 inhabited
islands :
Basse-Terre
Grande-Terre
Marie Galante
Les Saintes
La Désirade
The Northern Islands : Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy
and a group of uninhabited islets : « Les Iles de la Petite Terre »
Population :
Around 423 000
Climate
: tropical
Time Zone :
GMT - 4 hours
Currency : French
Franc (then Euro)
Air & Sea Connections
:
- 1 international airport in Pointe-à-Pitre-le Raizet
- secondary airports in Marie-Galante, La Désirade, Les Saintes and Saint-Barthélémy
- numerous sea connections within the Carribean
« Département Français d’Outre-Mer » by the Law
of March, 19th 1946
1 Prefect (in Basse-Terre)
- 2 « sous-préfets » (in Pointe-à-Pitre and Saint-Martin)
Deputies : 4
- Senators : 2
1 Regional Council
- 1 General Council
3 Districts
: Basse-Terre, Pointe-à-Pitre, Saint-Martin/Saint-Barthélémy
Townships :
43 - Parishes : 34
The Agriculture
Industry employs 7% of the working population. It is based on two export cultures
: Banana and sugar cane.
Fishing is
still traditional. Annual production is around 10.000 tons.
Aquaculture,
which developed quite well those past years, offers interesting future
prospects.
Breeding represents
20% of the agricultural production, but it is still under-developed.
Most of the industries are young, even the sugar or rum industries.
The Food Industry accounts for 37,3% of the jobs.
The Building
Sector : Highly productive sector accounting for 12 % of the
working people. Approximately 10 companies are employing over 50 persons and
are in
charge of the public works and the important housing programs.
Tourism has
been the main economic activity since the mid 70s’.
The service sector represents 73% of the employment.Tax Regime