Sint Maarten profile

Sint Maarten is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It occupies the southern part of the island of Saint Martin in the Leeward Islands – the northern half is the French territory of Saint Martin.

Its economy is heavily dependent on tourism, with some 80% of the work population employed in this sector. There is some agriculture in the territory but most food is imported.

The Dutch government controls defence and foreign affairs while the island’s government handles local matters.

In 2017, Sint Maarten was badly hit by Hurricane Irma. The Dutch Red Cross estimated nearly a third of the buildings in Sint Maarten had been destroyed and over 90% of structures on the island had been damaged.

In 2023, Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint Martin settled a nine-year dispute over the exact location of the border between the two territories.

There have been calls for Sint Maarten to become fully independent of the Netherlands. There is also a movement to unify both halves of the island.

Capital: Philipsburg

Area: 34 sq km

Population: 42,900

Languages: English, Dutch

Life expectancy: 72 years (men) 77 years (women)

Head of state: The King of the Netherlands, represented by a governor.

Prime minister: Luc Mercelina

Luc Mercelina remained as prime minster of a four-party coalition after a snap general election was held in Sint Maarten in August 2024, following the early dissolution of the parliament elected in January 2024.

After the January election, a four-party coalition had been formed, with Mercelina as prime minister, as his Unified Resilient St Maarten Movement (URSM) had won the biggest number of votes, but this collapsed shortly afterwards.

Saint Martin and Sint Maarten have a number of local media outlets. TV service on the Dutch side includes numerous US stations, plus networks from the Caribbean, South America and Europe.

Tourism is the mainstay of Sint Maarten’s economy [Getty Images]

Key dates in the history of Sint Maarten:

c. 2000BC – Likely earliest settlements on the island.

c. 800BC-300AD – Arawak people thought to have settled the island in this period.

c.1300-1400 – Arrival of Carib people

1493 – Christopher Columbus is widely believed to have named island after Saint Martin of Tours. He gave the name to the island now called Nevis but confusion over poorly mapped islands saw this name transferred to the island now known as Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten.

1631 – Dutch build a fort on the island, which is useful stopover between their colonies of New Amsterdam (New York) and New Holland (in northeast Brazil).

1633 – Spanish drive off the Dutch and build a fort, amid the 80 Years’ War (c.1566-1648) in Europe for Dutch independence from Spanish rule.

1648 – Spanish abandon island at end of the 80 Years’ War. Dutch and French establish settlements and divide island in two under the Treaty of Concordia.

1795-1815 – Entire island comes under French control during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

18th-19th Centuries – Dutch and French transport slaves from Africa to work on cotton, tobacco and sugar plantations.

1848 – France abolishes slavery in its colonies. Dutch authorities respond by freeing slaves, though it is not until 1863 that the Netherlands abolishes slavery in all its island colonies.

1815 – Sint Maarten and other Dutch possessions become part of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and dependencies.

1954 – Netherlands Antilles is established as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, comprising Sint Maarten and other Dutch Caribbean territories.

1950s onwards – Tourism becomes increasingly important.

1995 – Hurricane Luis causes significant damage on the island.

2010 – The Netherlands Antilles is dissolved, and Sint Maarten becomes a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, like Aruba and Curaçao, with the kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and foreign policy.

2017 – Hurricane Irma causes extensive damage across the island. Dutch Red Cross says nearly a third of buildings in Sint Maarten destroyed and over 90% of structures on the island damaged.