Country name:
conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Barthelemy
conventional short form: Saint Barthelemy
local long form: Collectivite d'outre mer de Saint-Barthelemy
local short form: Saint-Barthelemy
abbreviation: Saint-Barth (French); St. Barts or St. Barths (English)

Dependency status:
overseas collectivity of France

Capital:
name: Gustavia
geographic coordinates: 17 53 N, 62 51 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Independence:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

National holiday:
Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is St. Barthelemy Day, 24 August (1572)

Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
French civil law

Citizenship:
see France

Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE (since 15 May 2012), represented by Prefect Philippe CHOPIN (since 16 November 2011)
head of government: President of Territorial Council Bruno MAGRAS (since 16 July 2007)
cabinet: Executive Council elected by the Territorial Council; note - there is also an advisory, economic, social, and cultural council
elections/appointments: 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 in July 2012 (next to be held in 2017)
election results: Bruno MAGRAS (SBA) reelected president; Territorial Council vote NA

Legislative branch:
description: 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)
note: Saint Barthelemy holds one seat in the French Senate; elections last held on 28 September 2014 (next to be held not later than September 2017); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1; Saint Barthelemy elects one seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party UMP 1
elections: last held on 18 March 2012 (next to be held in July 2017)
election results: percent of vote by party - SBA 73.8%, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 15.9%, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 10.3%; seats by party - SBA 16, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 2, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 1

Political parties and leaders:
All for Saint-Barth (Tous pour Saint-Barth) [Benoit CHAUVIN] Saint-Barth First! (Saint-Barth d'Abord!) or SBA [Bruno MAGRAS]; affiliated with UMP Saint-Barth in Motion (Saint-Barth en Mouvement) [Maxime DESOUCHES]

International organization participation:
UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

National symbol(s):
pelican

National anthem:
name: "L'Hymne a St. Barthelemy" (Hymn to St. Barthelemy)
lyrics/music: Isabelle Massart DERAVIN/Michael VALENTI
note: local anthem in use since 1999; as a collectivity of France, "La Marseillaise" is official (see France)