NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
@Netherlands Antilles:Introduction
Background: Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France (whose northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe).
@Netherlands Antilles:Geography
Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands
Geographic coordinates: 12 15 N, 68 45 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Area - comparative: more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total: 10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km
Coastline: 364 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m
Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October
Environment - current issues: NA
@Netherlands Antilles:People
Population: 210,134 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (male 27,320; female 26,230) 15-64 years: 67% (male 66,653; female 73,813) 65 years and over: 8% (male 6,701; female 9,417) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.01% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 16.94 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 6.42 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.72 years male: 72.56 years female: 76.99 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.09 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Netherlands Antillean(s) adjective: Netherlands Antillean
Ethnic groups: mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 est.)
@Netherlands Antilles:Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen
Data code: NT
Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954
Government type: parliamentary
Capital: Willemstad
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) note: each island has its own government
Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
Netherlands, as amended
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: Miguel POURIER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP
Legislative branch: unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice, judges appointed by the monarch
Political parties and leaders: Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR
; C 93 ; Democratic Party of Bonaire or
PDB ; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Ephraim
JONCKHEER]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian
WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah
WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or
FAME ; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol
COVA]; National People's Party or PNP ; New Antilles
Movement or MAN ; Nos Patria [Chin
BEHILIA]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA ;
Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB ; People's Party or PAPU
; Pro Curacao Party or PPK ; Saba
Democratic Labor Movement ; Saba Unity Party [Carmen
SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA ; Serious
Alternative People's Party or SAPP ; Social Action
Cause or KAS ; Socialist Independent or SI [George
HUECK]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM ;
Workers' Liberation Front or FOL
note: political parties are indigenous to each island
International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: (9) 4613066 FAX: (9) 4616489
Flag description: white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
@Netherlands Antilles:Economy
Economy - overview: Tourism, petroleum transshipment, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.3% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,800 (1998 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (1998)
Labor force: 89,000
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 14.9% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries: tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 1.02 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 949 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
Exports: $303 million (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: petroleum products 98% (1993)
Exports - partners: US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The
Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998)
Imports: $1.3 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports - commodities: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures (1993)
Imports - partners: Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%,
Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998)
Debt - external: $1.35 billion (1996)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA; note - Netherlands provided a $97 million aid package in 1996
Currency: 1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins
(NAf.) per US$1 - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Netherlands Antilles:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 75,000 (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 11,727 (1995)
Telephone system: generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 217,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997)
Televisions: 69,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (1999)
@Netherlands Antilles:Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992 est.)
Ports and harbors: Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad
Merchant marine: total: 110 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,028,910 GRT/1,285,837 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 27, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 16, liquified gas 4, multi-functional large load carrier 18, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 26, roll-on/roll-off 6 (1999 est.) note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Belgium owns 9 ships, Germany 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 5 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
@Netherlands Antilles:Military
Military branches: Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal
Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 53,766 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 30,137 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 1,534 (2000 est.)
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands
@Netherlands Antilles:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transshipment point for South
American drugs bound for the US and Europe
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