Sint Maarten

• 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

• 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

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

• 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

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 2,017 /female 2,188) (2018 est.)

total:

41.2 years (2018 est.)

male:

39.8 years

female:

42.2 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.92 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

7.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

8.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

7.2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

78.5 years (2018 est.)

male:

76.1 years

female:

80.9 years

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

name:

Philipsburg

geographic coordinates:

18 1 N, 63 2 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

founded and named in 1763 by John PHILIPS, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy

• 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;
• local holiday Sint Maarten's Day, 11 November (1985), commemorates the discovery of the island by COLUMBUS on Saint Martin's Day, 11 November 1493;
• celebrated on both halves of the island

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 ROMEO-MARLIN (since 15 January 2018)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the governor-general

elections/appointments:

• 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

description:

unicameral Parliament of Sint Maarten (15 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held 26 February 2018 (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;
• composition - men 13, women 2, percent of women 13.3%

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

• 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]

• 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

note: the flag somewhat resembles that of the Philippines but with the main red and blue bands reversed; the banner more closely evokes the wartime Philippine flag

agriculture:

1.1%

industry:

15.2%

services:

83.7% (2008 est.)

general assessment:

generally adequate facilities (2018)

domestic:

extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2018)

international:

• country code - 1-721;
• landing points for SMPR-1 and the ECFS submarine cables providing connectivity to the Caribbean;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

major seaport(s):

Philipsburg

oil terminal(s):

Coles Bay oil terminal