Capital: Philipsburg
Population(2005 est): 45,000
Size: 39 sq mi (80 sq km)
St. Maarten
The smallest island in the world ever to have been partitioned between two different nations, St. Martin/St. Maarten has been shared by the French and the Dutch in a spirit of neighborly cooperation and mutual friendship for almost 350 years.
The border is almost imperceptible. and people cross back and forth without ever realizing they are entering a new country. There are four boundries, Belle Vue / Cole Bay, French Quarter / Dutch Quarter, Low Lands / Copecoy and Oyster Pond, testifying to centuries of peaceful cohabitation and the treaty that made the arrangement possible.
Geography
Netherlands Antilles, island group, an autonomous part of the Netherlands, West Indies. Formerly known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, they are divided into two groups. Lying off Venezuela are Bonaire and Curaçao; in the Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, are Saba, St. Eustatius, and the southern half of Saint Martin. Willemstad, on Curaçao, is the capital of the Netherlands Antilles. The land is mainly hilly and semiarid; the climate is tropical with northeast trade winds.
Economy
The economy is dependent on tourism, and offshore finance. St. Maarten have a higher per capita income and a more developed infrastructure than other nearby islands, and countries. Poor soil and scanty water resources hamper agricultural production, which is largely limited to aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fruits, and vegetables. There is also some light manufacturing.
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