Military branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy maintains a permanent and active presence in the region from its main operating base on Curacao and through a detachment on Sint Maarten; other local security forces include a coast guard, paramilitary National Guard (Vrijwilligers Korps Sint Maarten), and Police Force (KPSM)
Military service age and obligation: no conscription
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Airports: 1
country comparison to the world: 234
Roadways: total: 53 km
country comparison to the world: 217
Ports and terminals: Philipsburg
oil terminals: Coles Bay oil terminal
Telephones - main lines in use: 5,153
country comparison to the world: 210
Telephone system:
general assessment: generally adequate facilities
domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
international: country code - 599 (country code changes to 1-721 effective 30 September 2011); the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the Americas-2 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Internet country code: .sx
note - IANA has designated .sx for Sint Maarten, but has not yet assigned it to a sponsoring organization
The economy of Sint Maarten centers around tourism with nearly four-fifths of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year - 1.3 million in 2008 - with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport. Cruise ships and yachts also call on Sint Maarten's numerous ports and harbors. No significant agriculture and limited 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.
Dependency status: constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
Government type: parliamentary
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
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%
Religions: Roman Catholic 39%, Protestant 44.8% (Pentecostal 11.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, other Protestant 27%), none 6.7%, other 5.4%, Jewish 3.4%, not reported 0.7%
Population: 39,088
country comparison to the world: 211
Net migration rate: 14.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 9
Life expectancy at birth:
male: 73.1 years
female: 78.2 years
Total fertility rate:2.1 children born/woman
country comparison to the world: 114
Location: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
Land boundaries: total: 15 km
border countries: Saint Martin (France) 15 km
Climate: tropical marine climate, ameliorated by northeast trade winds, results in moderate temperatures; average rainfall of 1500 mm/year; July-November is the hurricane season
Terrain: low, hilly terrain, volcanic origin
Natural resources: fish, salt
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 90%
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
Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about 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 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.
