Saint Martin's island is with the hinge of small and the Greater Antilles, located at 200 km in the north of the archipelago of the Guadeloupe and 240 kilometers in the east of Puerto Rico.
The northern part is French and fact part of the department of the Guadeloupe. The southern part is Dutch and fact part of the Dutch West Indies. The English language is used in the two parts of the island.

Geography

La partie nord de l'île (53 km²) est une commune de la Guadeloupe.Elle forme, avec l'île de Saint-Barthélemy, un des trois arrondissements de ce département. Elle est divisée en trois cantons (deux pour Saint-Martin, un pour Saint-Barthélemy).La principale agglomération est Marigot. L'arrondissement de Saint-Martin ne possède pas de chef-lieu.

Demography

The population knew a very strong growth, especially in the years 1980, mainly thanks to the development of tourism. The French part counted only 8 000 inhabitants approximately in 1982, and more than 28 000 in 1990. According to a census complementary to 2002, there were 31 397 Saint-Martinois.