Sint Maarten

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For the island of St. Martin on the whole, see Saint Martin, for the French side, see Saint Martin (France) and for other uses, see Saint Martin (disambiguation).

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The island area of Sint Maarten (Template:Lang-nl) is one of five island areas (Eilandgebieden) of the Netherlands Antilles, encompassing the southern half of the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population of the Eilandgebied was 30,594, for a population density of 900 inhabitants per km².

Sint Maarten borders the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin, which occupies the northern half of the island.

1 Urban areas
2 Politics and Government
3 Colleges and Universities
4 Popular Tourist Destinations
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

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Urban areas

Image:Saint Maarten, Dutch Side.jpg

Philipsburg with 1,228 inhabitants
Lower Prince's Quarter with 8,123 inhabitants
Cul de Sac with 7,880 inhabitants
Cole Bay with 6,046 inhabitants
Upper Prince's Quarter with 4,020 inhabitants
Little Bay (Fort Amsterdam) with 2,176 inhabitants
Simpson Bay with 736 inhabitants

Lowlands with 232 inhabitants

Simpsonbay, Madame Estate, Dutch Cul-de-sac, Duch Quarter, Cole Bay, Oyster pond, South Reward, Saint-Peters, Ebernezer Estate Pointe-Blanche, Middle Region, Cay hill, Upper Prince's Quarter and Lower Prince's Quarter.

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Politics and Government

Sint Maarten is an "island area" (eilandgebied in Dutch), a component of the Netherlands Antilles comparable to a municipality. The Netherlands Antilles are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands though not in the European Union. Its currency is the Antillean guilder (however, the United States dollar is widely accepted). A planned restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles on December 15, 2008 will see Sint Maarten become a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (like Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are now). This dissolution is still planned, but has been postponed to an indefinite future date.<ref>St. Maarten-St. Martin - Consensus, but no date set for new status</ref>

The island area of Sint Maarten is ruled by an island council, an executive council, and an administrator (gezaghebber in Dutch) appointed by the Dutch Crown. Template:Sint Maarten Island Council election, 2007

Image:American university of the caribbean.JPG

American University of the Caribbean

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Colleges and Universities

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC), founded in 1978, was previously located on Montserrat. Because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995, AUC moved its campus to St. Maarten later that year. A permanent campus was completed in 1998 in Cupecoy.

University of St. Martin (USM) in Philipsburg. USM is an affiliate of Johnson & Wales University.

Image:Saint-Martin map detailed-en.svg

Detailed map showing Sint-Maarten.

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Popular Tourist Destinations

Border Monument in honor of the 1648 Treaty of Concordia.
The Philipsburg Historical foundation museum.
The Heineken airline Jet-Bar/Restaurant (aka Air LekkerBeck) (at Philipsburg).
Fantastic jumbo jets low landings (at Maho Beach).
The zoo park with animals from the Caribbean area (on Madame estate Pondfill).
Fort Amsterdam and Fort Willems (at Philipsburg)
Sightseeing on Dawn Beach road.
Emilio Wilson Historical Park (Cul-de-sac)
Butterfly Farm
Hiking to Pic Paradise
The Courthouse on Frontstreet
The newly renovated Boardwalk spanning the beachfront on Frontstreet,Philipsburg