St Maarten Information

Eastern Caribbean, Windward Islands.

GMT - 4.

34 sq km (16 sq miles).

41,000 (2008).

1206 per sq km.

Philipsburg.

Politically, St Maarten is one of three Windward Islands in the Netherlands Antilles, although geographically it is part of the Leeward Group of the Lesser Antilles, and not strictly an island – it occupies just one-third of an island otherwise under French control (the French sector is called St Martin), lying 8km (5 miles) south of Anguilla, 232km (144 miles) east of Puerto Rico and 56km (35 miles) due north of St Eustatius. St Maarten is the southern sector, an area of wooded mountains rising from white sandy beaches. To the west, the mountains give way to lagoons and salt flats.

The Netherlands Antilles consist of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten. The capital of the island group is Willemstad, Curaçao.

For information on the French sector (St Martin), see the Guadeloupe section.

Part of the Netherlands Antilles; dependency of The Netherlands since 1630.

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, represented locally by Governor General Frits Goedgedrag.

Prime Minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage since 2006.

Occupied since prehistory by Carib Indians, St Maarten was sighted by Christopher Columbus on St Maarten's day in 1493. However, the first European settlers were French and Dutch who, in 1648, partitioned the island. The island has remained under dual sovereignty ever since, the Dutch sector achieving partial independence from the Netherlands in 1954 with the establishment of the Netherlands Antilles.

Recent years have seen the island suffering from serious water shortages, and some hurricane damage.

Dutch is the official language. Papiamento (a mixture of African, Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish) is the commonly used lingua franca. English and Spanish are also widely spoken.

Protestant, with Roman Catholic and Jewish minorities.

110/220 volts AC, 60Hz.

Dutch customs are still important throughout the Netherlands Antilles, but tourism has brought increasing US influences and St Maarten is perhaps more easy-going than the southern islands. Dress is casual and lightweight cottons are advised, but it is common to dress up in the evening.