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: 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

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

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

Land boundaries: 0 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

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: 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

Geography
Note: defense is responsibility of the Netherlands


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Population: 185,790 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 0.47% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Netherlands Antillean(s)

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: 0.47% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 16.62 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 5.5 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.46 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 9.6 deaths/1000 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.)

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: local long form: none; local short form; Nederlandse Antillen

Government type: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954

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: 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)

Legislative branch: Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force

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
From the us:

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 Venezuela and the US being the major suppliers.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $9,700 (1993 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: NA%

Labor force: 89,000
By occupation government: 65%
By occupation 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

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: $240 million (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities: petroleum products 98%
Partners: US 39%, Brazil 9%, Colombia 6%

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
Partners: Venezuela 26%, US 18%, Colombia 6%, Netherlands 6%, Japan 5%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $701 million (December 1987)

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
Capacity: 125,000 kW
Production: 365 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,980 kWh (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: 113 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 966,797 GRT/1,251,871 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 43, chemical tanker 7, combination ore/oil 1, container 3, liquefied gas 5, multifunction large-load carrier 18, oil tanker 1, passenger 4, refrigerated cargo 23, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe