Guadeloupe has an area of 1,434 km² and consists of two distinct landmasses or islands, separated by a narrow strait no more than 200 meters wide, known as “La Rivière Salée.”

Guadeloupe is an “archipelago” consisting of two main islands joined together (Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre). Near Guadeloupe, the administrative dependencies or Southern Islands (Marie-Galante, Les Saintes, and La Désirade) consist of several neighboring French islands, which differ entirely from Guadeloupe in terms of their unique cultural, heritage, historical, and lifestyle characteristics.

Administratively, Guadeloupe is an outermost region of the European Union, a single-departmental region, and a French overseas department within the group commonly known as the French Antilles; its official departmental code is “971.” It is a member of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).