flag: Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is a French overseas department in the Caribbean, not an independent country. It lies in the Lesser Antilles, north of Dominica and Martinique. Its two main islands, Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, sit so close together that the map looks like a butterfly, which is why locals call it the butterfly island. Smaller islands such as Marie-Galante and Les Saintes complete the group. People speak French and Guadeloupean Creole, pay in euros and are citizens of France and the European Union.

The flag you probably see is a black field with a golden sun and green sugarcane stalks, topped by a blue band with three gold fleurs-de-lis. It comes from the coat of arms of Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest town, and has been adopted informally as the island's own banner at sports events, on souvenirs and online. It has no legal status: as a part of France, Guadeloupe officially flies the tricolour. The emoji is built from the two letters of its country code, GP, so it stands for the territory itself rather than for any particular design.

As of 2026, what appears depends on your device: most phones draw the unofficial sun-and-sugarcane banner, some show the French tricolour, and computers or apps without flag artwork show only the letters GP side by side. All of them are the same emoji underneath.

What does it mean when someone sends 🇬🇵?

It says "I'm from Guadeloupe" or "this is about Guadeloupe". In a bio or a name it marks roots: many Guadeloupeans live in mainland France and elsewhere, and 🇬🇵 next to 🇫🇷 or 🇲🇶 is a common way to show family origins. Fans add it when cheering athletes with Guadeloupean roots, when Guadeloupe's own football team plays in Caribbean tournaments, or during the Tour de Guadeloupe cycling race. Carnival season and Creole music posts carry it too.

Sent to you with a photo, it usually means a holiday or a trip home. Sending it back is friendly; replacing it with 🇫🇷 when someone has chosen 🇬🇵 can land badly, because the local flag is a statement of island identity, even though it is not an anti-France statement. Pro-independence groups fly their own, different flags.