Currency:
1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 1.8167 (January
1993), 1.7585 (1992), 1.8697 (1991), 1.8209 (1990), 2.1207 (1989), 1.9766
(1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Netherlands, Communications
Railroads:
2,828 km 1.435-meter standard gauge operated by Netherlands Railways (NS)
(includes 1,957 km electrified and 1,800 km double track)
Highways:
108,360 km total; 92,525 km paved (including 2,185 km of limited access,
divided highways); 15,835 km gravel, crushed stone
Inland waterways:
6,340 km, of which 35% is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or
larger
Pipelines:
crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km
Ports:
coastal - Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Den Helder, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Ijmuiden,
Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Terneuzen, Vlissingen; inland - 29 ports
Merchant marine:
344 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,762,000 GRT/3,675,649 DWT; includes
3 short-sea passenger, 193 cargo, 30 refrigerated cargo, 26 container, 13
roll-on/roll-off, 1 livestock carrier, 11 multifunction large-load carrier,
23 oil tanker, 22 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 2 specialized tanker, 6
bulk, 4 combination bulk; note - many Dutch-owned ships are also registered
on the captive Netherlands Antilles register
Airports:
total:
28
usable:
28
with permanent-surface runways:
20
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
11
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
6
Telecommunications:
highly developed, well maintained, and integrated; extensive redundant
system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave radio relay
microwave links; 9,418,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 (3 relays) AM,
12 (39 repeaters) FM, 8 (7 repeaters) TV; 5 submarine cables; 1
communication satellite earth station operating in INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean
and 2 Atlantic Ocean antenna) and EUTELSAT systems; nationwide mobile phone
system
*Netherlands, Defense Forces
Branches:
Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service
and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 4,183,167; fit for military service 3,677,445; reach
military age (20) annually 104,263 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $7.8 billion, 3% of GDP (1992)
*Netherlands Antilles, Header
Affiliation: (part of the Dutch realm)
*Netherlands Antilles, Geography
Location:
two island groups - Curacas and Bonaire in the southern Caribbean Sea are
about 70 km north of Venezuela near Aruba and the rest of the country is
about 800 km to the northeast about one-third of the way between Antigua and
Barbuda and Puerto Rico
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area:
960 km2
land area:
960 km2
comparative area:
slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC
note:
includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch
part of the island of Saint Martin)
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
364 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
12 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Terrain:
generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Natural resources:
phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Land use:
arable land:
8%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0% forest and woodland:
0%
other:
92%
Irrigated land:
NA km2
Environment:
Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt, so rarely
threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes
from July to October
*Netherlands Antilles, People