Map of Netherlands Antilles | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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).


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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

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: total: 960 km²; land: 960 km²

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 364 km; exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; territorial sea: 12 nm

Maritime claims

Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Elevation

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

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population
Growth rate: 0.4% (1993 est.)

Nationality: noun: Netherlands Antillean(s); adjective: Netherlands Antillean

Ethnic groups: mixed African 85%, Carib Indian, European, Latin,; Oriental

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.4% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 17.23 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 5.69 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.57 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 10.4 deaths/1000 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.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981); total population: 94%; male: 94%; female: 93%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: none; conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles; local long form: none; local short form: Nederlandse Antillen

Government type

Capital: Willemstad

Administrative divisions: none (part of the Dutch realm)

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, vice prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral legislature (Staten)

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC,; UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: as an autonomous part of the Netherlands,; Netherlands Antillean interests in the US are represented by the Netherlands
From the us: 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) 613,066; fax: 599 (9) 616,489

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 4% (1991 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $8,700 (1991 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products - aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not self-sufficient in food

Industries: tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate NA%

Labor force: 89,000; by occupation: government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)

Unemployment rate: 16.4% (1991 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $209 million; expenditures $232 million, including capital expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $200 million (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: petroleum products 98%
Partners: US 40%, UK 7%, Guadeloupe 5%

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
Partners: Venezuela 42%, US 21%, Netherlands 8%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.79 (fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)


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Electricity
Production: 125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced, 1,980 kWh per capita (1992)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

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

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

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

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs