Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and began exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished the island of Saint Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The establishment of cotton, tobacco, and sugar plantations dramatically expanded African slavery on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries; the practice was not abolished in the Dutch half until 1863. The island's economy declined until 1939 when it became a free port; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded beginning in the 1950s. In 1954, Sint Maarten and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Netherlands Antilles. In a 2000 referendum, the citizens of Sint Maarten voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October of 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Caribbean, located in the Leeward Islands (northern) group; Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean Sea; Sint Maarten lies east of the US Virgin Islands

18 4 N, 63 4 W

Central America and the Caribbean

one-fifth the size of Washington, DC

58.9 km (for entire island)

tropical marine climate, ameliorated by northeast trade winds, results in moderate temperatures; average rainfall of 150 cm/year; hurricane season stretches from July to November

low, hilly terrain, volcanic origin

fish, salt

NA

subject to hurricanes from July to November

NA

the northern border is shared with the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin; together, these two entities make up the smallest landmass in the world shared by two self-governing states

English (official) 67.5%, Spanish 12.9%, Creole 8.2%, Dutch (official) 4.2%, Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 2.2%, French 1.5%, other 3.5% (2001 census)

Protestant 41.9% (Pentecostal 14.7%, Methodist 10.0%, Seventh Day Adventist 6.6%, Baptist 4.7%, Anglican 3.1%, other Protestant 2.8%)), Roman Catholic 33.1%, Hindu 5.2%, Christian 4.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.7%, Evangelical 1.4%, Muslim/Jewish 1.1%, other 1.3% (includes Buddhist, Sikh, Rastafarian), none 7.9%, no response 2.4% (2011 est.)

37,132 (2014 est.)

1.51% (2013 est.)

13 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

4.51 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

6.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

PHILIPSBURG (capital) 1,327 (2011)

2.09 children born/woman (2013 est.)

NA

NA

NA

constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs

parliamentary

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

King's Day (birthday of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER), 27 April (1967)

Staatsregeling, 10 October 2010; revised Kingdom Charter pending previous 1947, 1955; latest adopted 21 July 2010, entered into force 10 October 2010 (regulates governance of Sint Maarten but is subordinate to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - in October 2010, with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Maarten became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands

based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence

see the Netherlands

18 years of age; universal

Concordia Political Alliance or CPA [Jeffery RICHARDSON]

Democratic Party or DP [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]

National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]

United People's Party or UPP [Theodore HEYLIGER]

none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

the US does not have an embassy in Sint Maarten; the Consul General to Curacao is accredited to Sint Maarten

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and blue with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the center of the triangle displays the Sint Maarten coat of arms; the arms consist of an orange-bordered blue shield prominently displaying the white court house in Philipsburg, as well as a bouquet of yellow sage (the national flower) in the upper left, and the silhouette of a Dutch-French friendship monument in the upper right; the shield is surmounted by a yellow rising sun in front of which is a brown pelican in flight; a yellow scroll below the shield bears the motto: SEMPER PROGREDIENS (Always Progressing); the three main colors are identical to those on the Dutch flag

brown pelican, yellow sage (flower); national colors: red, white, blue

The economy of Sint Maarten centers around tourism with nearly four-fifths of the labor force engaged in this sector. Nearly 1.8 million visitors came to the island by cruise ship and roughly 500,000 visitors arrived through Princess Juliana International Airport in 2013. Cruise ships and yachts also call on Sint Maarten's numerous ports and harbors. Limited agriculture and local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported. Sint Maarten had the highest per capita income among the five islands that formerly comprised the Netherlands Antilles.

$365.8 million (2014 est.)

$353.5 million (2013 est.)

$339.6 million (2012 est.)

$304.1 billion (2014 est.)

3.6% (2014 est.)

4.1% (2013 est.)

1.9% (2012 est.)

$66,800 (2014 est.)

$65,500 (2013 est.)

$63,900 (2012 est.)

sugar

tourism, light industry

23,200 (2008 est.)

12% (2012 est.)

10.6% (2008 est.)

4% (2012 est.)

0.7% (2009 est.)

sugar

Netherlands Antillean guilders (ANG) per US dollar -

1.79 (2014)

1.79 (2013)

1.79 (2012)

1.79 (2011)

1.79 (2010)

304.3 million kWh (2008 est.)

.sx; note - IANA has designated .sx for Sint Maarten, but has not yet assigned it to a sponsoring organization

NA

1 (2013)

no regular military forces (2012)

defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands