28 percent of the entrepreneurs indicated to have made an investment in fixed assets in the year 2012. Of those, 40 percent indicated to have experienced investment obstacles. This is a 10 percentage point decrease compared to June 2012. As can be seen in the figure below, the main obstacles were reported as shortage of financial resources, poor market forecast and government policy in ranking order of highest to lowest.

The consumer price index for Sint Maarten has increased in the month of October 2012 by 1.2 percent compared to that of August 2012.

When comparing average consumer prices over a twelve month period (Oct. 2011 to Oct. 2012), an increase of 4.3 percent was recorded compared to the same period one year earlier. The rate of inflation has eased since June 2012; following an all-time high of 5.5 percent in April of this year. This contraction in the rate of inflation has been observed in three consecutive periods; when rates were 5.2%, 4.7% and 4.3% for June, August and October respectively.

The consumer price index for Sint Maarten has increased in the month of October 2012 by 1.2 percent compared to that of August 2012

The Department of Statistics (STAT) has released preliminary results of the Census 2011. During the 2011 Census, which was conducted in April of that year, enumerators went house to house and interviewed the population of St. Maarten. Questions that were asked related to the household (composition, building material, language spoken, amenities available, nuisances experienced) and personal characteristics such as demography and migration, health, fertility, education, labour and income.