Sint Maarten |
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Anthem: O Sweet Saint Martin's Land
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Location of Sint Maarten (circled in red)
in the Caribbean (light yellow) |
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Sint Maarten is located on the southern half of
the island of Saint Martin. |
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Capital |
Philipsburg 18°02′N 63°03′W / 18.033°N 63.050°W |
Largest city | Lower Prince's Quarter |
Official languages | |
Demonym | St. Maartener |
Sovereign state | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Government | Unitary parliamentary representative democracy under constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch
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Willem-Alexander |
• Governor
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Eugene Holiday |
William Marlin | |
Legislature | Estates of Sint Maarten |
Autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands | |
• Established
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10 October 2010 (dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles) |
Area | |
• Total
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37 km2 (14 sq mi) |
• Water (%)
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negligible |
Population | |
• 2011 census
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33,609 |
• Density
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1,110/km2 (2,874.9/sq mi) (10th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2003 estimate |
• Total
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$400 million |
• Per capita
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$11,400 |
Currency | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
Time zone | AST (UTC−4) |
Drives on the | right |
Calling code | +1 721 |
ISO 3166 code | SX |
Internet TLD | .sx, .an |
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in the Caribbean (light yellow)
Sint Maarten (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪnt ˈmaːrtə(n)]) is an island country in the Caribbean. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With a population of 33,609 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 40% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 60% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg.
Before 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten was known as the Island Territory of Sint Maarten (Dutch: Eilandgebied Sint Maarten), and was one of five island territories (eilandgebieden) that constituted the Netherlands Antilles.
On 6 and 7 September 2017 the island was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure. A total of two deaths had been reported as of 8 September. By then, "many inhabitants [were] devoid of basic necessities" and looting had become a serious problem.
In 1493, during Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies, upon first sighting the island he named it Isla de San Martín after Saint Martin of Tours because it was 11 November, St. Martin's Day. However, though he claimed it as a Spanish territory, Columbus never landed there, and Spain made the settlement of the island a low priority.