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 4,180,745; fit for military service 3,667,212; reach
military age (20) annually 98,479 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $6.8 billion, 2.3% of GDP (1993)
@Netherlands Antilles
Header Affiliation: (part of the Dutch realm)
@Netherlands Antilles, Geography
Location:
Caribbean, two island groups - Curacao 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 sq km
land area:
960 sq km
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 sq km
Environment:
current issues:
NA
natural hazards:
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
international agreements:
party to - Whaling
@Netherlands Antilles, People
Population: 185,790 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 0.47% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 16.62 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: -6.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.32 years male: 74.1 years female: 78.66 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.96 children born/woman (1994 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)
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 (since 30 April 1980), represented by
Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989)
head of government:
Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February 1994)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed with the advice and approval of the
unicameral legislature
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Staten:
elections last held on 25 February 1994 (next to be held March 1998);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (23 total) PAR 8, PNP
3, SPA 2, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, DP 1, WIPM 1, DP-St. E 1, DP-St. M 1,
Nos Patria 1
note:
the government of Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties
Judicial branch:
Joint High Court of Justice
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:
Antillean Restructuring Party (PAR), Miguel POURIER; 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
Member of:
CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO
(associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US:
none (self-governing part of 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