Population:
184,990 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.4% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
17.23 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
5.69 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
-7.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
10.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
75.73 years
male:
73.55 years
female:
78.03 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.99 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Netherlands Antillean(s)
adjective:
Netherlands Antillean
Ethnic divisions:
mixed African 85%, Carib Indian, European, Latin, Oriental
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages:
Dutch (official), Papiamento a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect
predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
total population:
94%
male:
94%
female:
93%
Labor force:
89,000
by occupation:
government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)
*Netherlands Antilles, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Netherlands Antilles
local long form:
none
local short form:
Nederlandse Antillen
Digraph:
NA
Type:
part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954
Capital:
Willemstad
Administrative divisions:
none (part of the Dutch realm)
Independence:
none (part of the Dutch realm)
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
National holiday:
Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Political parties and leaders:
political parties are indigenous to each island
Bonaire:
Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), Rudy ELLIS; Democratic Party of Bonaire
(PDB), Franklin CRESTIAN
Curacao:
National People's Party (PNP), Maria LIBERIA-PETERS; New Antilles Movement
(MAN), Domenico Felip Don MARTINA; Workers' Liberation Front (FOL), Wilson
(Papa) GODETT; Socialist Independent (SI), George HUECK and Nelson MONTE;
Democratic Party of Curacao (DP), Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA
Saba:
Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Will JOHNSON; Saba
Democratic Labor Movement, Vernon HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS
Sint Eustatius:
Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), K. Van PUTTEN; Windward
Islands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Ralph BERKEL
Sint Maarten:
Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Claude WATHEY; Patriotic
Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance JAMES
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Elections: Staten:
last held on 16 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (22 total) PNP 7, FOL-SI 3, UPB 3, MAN 2,
DP-St. M 2, DP 1, SPM 1, WIPM 1, DP-St. E 1, Nos Patria 1; note - the
government of Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS is a coalition of several
parties
Executive branch:
Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, vice prime minister, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral legislature (Staten)
*Netherlands Antilles, Government
Judicial branch:
Joint High Court of Justice
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by
Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS (since 17 May 1988, previously served
from September 1984 to November 1985)
Member of:
CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO
(associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US:
as an autonomous part of the Netherlands, Netherlands Antillean interests in
the US are represented by the Netherlands
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Consul General Bernard J. WOERZ
consulate general:
Saint Anna Boulevard 19, Willemstad, Curacao
mailing address:
P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
telephone:
[599] (9) 613066
FAX:
[599] (9) 616489
Flag:
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
Overview:
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of the
economy. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed
infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Unlike many
Latin American countries, the Netherlands Antilles has avoided large
international debt. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with
the US being the major supplier.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.6 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$8,700 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
16.4% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $209 million; expenditures $232 million, including capital
expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)
Exports:
$200 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
petroleum products 98%
partners:
US 40%, UK 7%, Guadeloupe 5%
Imports:
$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
partners:
Venezuela 42%, US 21%, Netherlands 8%
External debt:
$701 million (December 1987)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced, 1,980 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum
transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing
(Curacao)
Agriculture:
hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products - aloes,
sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not self-sufficient in
food
Economic aid:
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
$513 million
Currency:
1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.79
(fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Netherlands Antilles, Communications
Highways:
950 km total; 300 km paved, 650 km gravel and earth
Ports:
Willemstad, Philipsburg, Kralendijk
Merchant marine:
89 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 781,646 GRT/962,138 DWT; includes 4
passenger, 29 cargo, 14 refrigerated cargo, 7 container, 7 roll-on/roll-off,
12 multifunction large-load carrier, 5 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 2
bulk, 1 oil tanker, 1 railcar carrier, 1 combination ore/oil; note - all but
a few are foreign owned, mostly in the Netherlands
Airports:
total:
5
usable:
4
with permanent-surface runways:
4
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
3
Telecommunications:
generally adequate facilities; extensive interisland microwave radio relay
links; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 2 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic
Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
*Netherlands Antilles, Defense Forces