The commune was originally called Grand-Santi-Papaichton and included the now independent communes of Apatou and Papaichton. On 12 November 1976 Apatou was detached from Grand-Santi-Papaichton and became an independent commune. On 1 January 1993 Papaichton was also detached from Grand-Saint-Papaichton and became an independent commune.[4] On that occasion, the name of the commune was shortened into Grand-Santi.[3] The commune mainly lives from small-scale agriculture and fishing.[5] The commune also contains other villages like Belikampoe [nl].[6]
Population
Transport
Canoes on the Maroni River
The commune can only be reached by boat or airplane.[3] The Grand-Santi Airport is located 1 km (0.54 NM) northeast of Grand-Santi.[8]