Les Abymes in the context of "Basse-Terre Island"

Guadeloupe is an overseas department and region of the French Republic in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and two Îles des Saintes—as well as many uninhabited islands and outcroppings. It is south of Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat and north of Dominica. The capital city is Basse-Terre, on the southern west coast of Basse-Terre Island; the most populous city is Les Abymes and the main centre of business is neighbouring Pointe-à-Pitre, both on Grande-Terre Island. It had a population of 395,726 in 2024.

Like the other overseas departments, it is an integral part of France. As a constituent territory of the European Union (EU) and the eurozone, the euro is its official currency and any EU citizen is free to settle and work there indefinitely, but it is not part of the Schengen Area. It included Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin until 2007, when they were detached from Guadeloupe following a 2003 referendum.

Pointe-à-Pitre (French pronunciation: [pwɛ̃tapitʁ]; Guadeloupean Creole: Pwentapit, [pwɛ̃tapit], or simply Lapwent, [lapwɛ̃t]) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a sous-préfecture, being the seat of the arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre.

Although Pointe-à-Pitre is not Guadeloupe's administrative capital (that distinction goes to Basse-Terre), it is nonetheless the region's economic capital. The inhabitants are called "Pointois". In 2018, it had a population of 15,410 in the city (commune) of Pointe-à-Pitre proper and 250,952 inhabitants in the urban unit Pointe-à-Pitre–Les Abymes. It is part of the metropolitan area of Les Abymes.