Background: 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. On 6 September 2015, Hurricane Irma passed over the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten causing extensive damage to roads, communications, electrical power, and housing; the UN estimated that 90% of the buildings were damaged or destroyed. Princess Juliana International Airport was heavily damaged and forced to close to commercial air traffic for five weeks.

Geographic coordinates: 18 4 N, 63 4 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: note: Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin
Land: 34 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 236
Comparative: one-fifth the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 16 km
Border countries: (0) Saint Martin (France) 16 km

Coastline: 58.9 km
Note: (for entire island)

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: 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

Terrain: low, hilly terrain, volcanic origin

Elevation
Elevation extremes: 0 m
Note: lowest point: Caribbean Sea: 383 highest point: Mount Flagstaff

Natural resources: fish, salt

Natural hazards: subject to hurricanes from July to November

Geography
Note: 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

Population
Distribution: most populous areas are Lower Prince's Quarter (north of Philipsburg), followed closely by Cul de Sac: 42,677 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 212
Growth rate: 1.39% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 80

Languages: 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)

Religions: 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.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.5% (male 4,110 /female 3,785)
15-24 years: 14.19% (male 3,049 /female 3,009)
25-54 years: 40.93% (male 8,539 /female 8,930)
55-64 years: 16.52% (male 3,356 /female 3,694)
65 years and over: 9.85% (male 2015 /female 2,188) (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 41.2 years
Male: 39.8 years
Female: 42.2 years (2015 est.)
Rank: 43

Population growth rate: 1.39% (2015 est.)
Rank: 80

Birth rate: 13.1 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 147

Death rate: 5.4 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 182

Net migration rate: 6.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 15

Population distribution: most populous areas are Lower Prince's Quarter (north of Philipsburg), followed closely by Cul de Sac

Urbanization
Urban population: 100% of total population (2015)
Rate of urbanization: 1.56% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1327 PHILIPSBURG (capital) (2011)

Environment
Current issues: scarcity of potable water (increasing percentage provided by desalination); inadequate solid waste management; pollution from construction, chemical runoff, and sewage harms reefs

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
0-14 years: 1.09 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
25-54 years: 0.95 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.9 deaths/1000 live births (2015 est.)
Male: 8.6 deaths/1000 live births (2015 est.)
Female: 7.2 deaths/1000 live births (2015 est.)
Rank: 152

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.5 years (2015 est.)
Male: 76.1 years (2015 est.)
Female: 80.9 years (2015 est.)
Rank: 62

Total fertility rate: 2.04 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 112

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases: note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Sint Maarten
Local long form: Land Sint Maarten (Dutch); Country of Sint Maarten (English)
Local short form: Sint Maarten (Dutch and English)
Former: Netherlands Antilles; Curacao and Dependencies
Etymology: explorer Christopher COLUMBUS named the island after Saint MARTIN of Tours because the 11 November 1493 day of discovery was the saints feast day

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Estates of Sint Maarten) under a constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Philipsburg
Geographic coordinates: 18 1 N, 63 2 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday: King's Day (birthday of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER), 27 April (1967); note - King's or Queen's Day are observed on the ruling monarch's birthday; celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday

Constitution: 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) (2015)

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

Citizenship: see the Netherlands

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER of the Netherlands (since 30 April 2013); represented by Governor General Eugene HOLIDAY (since 10 October 2010)
Head of government: Prime Minister Leona MARLIN-ROMEO (since 15 January 2015)
Cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the governor-general
Electionsappointments: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a 6-year term; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party usually elected prime minister by Parliament

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral parliament or Staten (15 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held 26 February 2015 (next to be held in 2022)
Election results: percent of vote by party - UD 42.4%, NA 30.5%, US Party 13.2%, SMCP 8.7%; seats by party - UD 7, NA 5, US Party 2, SMCP 1

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or Joint Court of Justice (consists of the presiding judge, other members, and their substitutes); final appeals heard by the Supreme Court (in The Hague, Netherlands); note - prior to 2010, the Joint Court of Justice was the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
Judge selection and term of office: Joint Court judges appointed by the monarch serve for life
Subordinate courts: Courts in First Instance

Political parties and leaders: National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]Sint Maarten Christian Party or SMCP [Wycliffe SMITH]United Democrats Party or UD [Theodore HEYLIGER]United Sint Maarten Party or US Party [Frans RICHARDSON]

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ILO, Interpol, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Sint Maarten; the Consul General to Curacao is accredited to Sint Maarten

Flag description:

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

National anthem
Name: O Sweet Saint Martins Land
Lyricsmusic: Gerard KEMPS: note: the song, written in 1958, is used as an unofficial anthem for the entire island (both French and Dutch sides); as a collectivity of France, in addition to the local anthem, 'La Marseillaise' is official on the French side (see France); as a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in addition to the local anthem, 'Het Wilhelmus' is official on the Dutch side (see Netherlands)

Economy overview: 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 214

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 97

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 14

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.4% (2008 est.)
Industry: 18.3% (2008 est.)
Services: 81.3% (2008 est.)

Agriculture products: sugar

Industries: tourism, light industry

Labor force: 23,200 (2008 est.)
Rank: 210
By occupation agriculture: 1.1%
By occupation industry: 15.2%
By occupation services: 83.7% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 160

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 157

Exports
Commodities: sugar

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 304.3 million kWh (2008 est.)
Production rank: 181

Petroleum
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 193
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 195

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 201
Products consumption: 10,600 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 161
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 202
Products imports: 10,440 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 148

Telephone system
General assessment: generally adequate facilities (2010)
Domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2010)
International: country code - 1-721; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the Americas-2 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Central America, parts of South America, the Caribbean, and the U.S.; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2010)

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

Airports: 1 (2013)
Rank: 236
With paved runways total: 1 (2015)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2015)
With paved runways: note: Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) was severely damaged on 6 September 2015 by hurricane Irma, but resumed commercial operations on 10 October 2015

Roadways
Total: 53 km
Rank: 219

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Philipsburg
Oil terminal: Coles Bay oil terminal