St. Maarten held general elections in September 2016 and this resulted in a coalition government between the National Alliance, Democratic Party and the United St. Maarten Party, with Mr. William Marlin being the Prime Minister.
The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten concluded that the St. Maarten’s economy experienced very restricted growth of only 0.1% during 2016. This represented a retreat in economic growth when compared with 2015, when the economy grew by 0.4%. In the meantime, inflation declined by 0.2% as a result of lower oil prices on the international market. The slight growth in GDP above was fuelled by private demand and investments, as large projects in Cupecoy and Maho were carried out during the year. There was also growth in the manufacturing and utilities sectors. Areas of the economy which recorded decline were tourism, as St. Maarten lost cruise lines to competing islands, transportation, communication and real estate. The government also recorded lower revenue from turnover and wage & salaries taxes. Public debt, which now stands at NAF 683 million, declined by NAF 10 million or 1.4% when compared to the previous year. Saba and St. Eustatius continue to experience challenges within their economies. While inflation on St. Eustatius declined by 0.1% during the year, this was not the case in Saba where inflation rose by 0.1%.
Click here to view our Annual Report 2016 (PDF 1.1 MB)