Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪnt ˈmaːrtə(n)]) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 40% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 60% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg. Collectively, Sint Maarten and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. Before 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten was known as the Island Territory of Sint Maarten (Dutch: Eilandgebied Sint Maarten), and was one of six island territories (eilandgebieden) that constituted the Netherlands Antilles. Sint Maarten has the status of an overseas country and territory (OCT) and is not part of the European Union. On 6 and 7 September 2017, the island was hit by Category 5+ Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.