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 Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France).

Geographic coordinates: 12 15 N 68 45 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 960 km²
Land: 960 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Comparative: more than five times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries
Total: 15 km
Border countries: (0) Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km

Coastline: 364 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: generally hilly volcanic interiors

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m

Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only) salt (Bonaire only)

Land use
Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 90% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten Saba and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October

Geography
Note: the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao)

Population: 221,736 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 0.79% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Dutch Antillean
Adjective: Dutch Antillean

Ethnic groups: mixed black 85% Carib Amerindian white East Asian

Languages: Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) English 15.9% (widely spoken) Dutch 7.3% (official) Spanish 6.1% Creole 1.6% other 1.9% unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 72% Pentecostal 4.9% Protestant 3.5% Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1% Methodist 2.9% Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7% other Christian 4.2% Jewish 1.3% other or unspecified 1.2% none 5.2% (2001 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.9% (male 27,197/female 25,886)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 71,622/female 77,710)
65 years and over: 8.7% (male 7,925/female 11,396) (2006 est.)

Median age
Total: 32.8 years
Male: 31.1 years
Female: 34.4 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.79% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 14.78 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 6.45 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.93 male/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.76 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 10.54 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 8.93 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.03 years
Male: 73.76 years
Female: 78.41 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.99 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96.7%
Male: 96.7%
Female: 96.8% (2003 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles
Local long form: none
Local short form: Nederlandse Antillen
Former: Curacao and Dependencies

Government type: parliamentary

Capital
Name: Willemstad (on Curacao)
Geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 56 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
Note: each island has its own government

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday: Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980) 30 April

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 of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)
Head of government: Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature)
Elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held by 2006)
Note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP St. Maarten, UP Bonaire, WIPM Saba, DP Statia

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP St. E 1, DP St. M 1, BDP 1, WIPM 1
Note: the government of Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE is a coalition of several parties

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders
Bonaire: Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]
Curacao: Ban Vota [Norbert GEORGE]; C-93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; E Mayoria [Aurelio PEDRO]; Forsa Korsou [Nelson NAVARRO]; Liste Ni'un Paso Atras [Nelson PIERRE]; Movemiento Patriotiko Korsou [Reginald LAK]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Partido Akshon Pa Prosperidat I Seguridat [Sonja BERKEMEYER]; Partido Laboral Krusada Popular or PLKP [Errol COVA]; Party for the Restructured Antilles or PAR [Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pidjin [Jasmin PINEDO]; Pueblo Soberano [Herman WIELS]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT]
Saba: Saba Labor Party [Akilah LEVENSTONE]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Ray HASSELL]
Sint eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Progressive Labor Party [Clyde VAN PUTTEN]; St. Eustatius Alliance [Ingrid HOUTMAN-WHITFIELD]
Sint maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Freedom Slate of National Democratic Party [Theophilus PRIEST]; National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [Gracita ARRINDELL]; St. Maarten People's Party [Johan LEONARD]; United People's Labor Party [Bienvenido RICHARDSON]
Note: political parties are indigenous to each island

International organization participation: ILO IMF Interpol IOC UNESCO (associate) UPU WCL WCO WMO WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Jeffrey CORRION Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
From the us chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON
From the us consulates general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
From the us telephone: [599] (9) 4,613,066
From the us fax: [599] (9) 4,616,489

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

Economy overview: Tourism petroleum refining and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past eight years the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $2.8 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $16,000 (2004 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1%
Industry: 15%
Services: 84% (2000 est.)

Agriculture products: aloes sorghum peanuts vegetables tropical fruit

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 83,600 (2005)
By occupation agriculture: 1%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 79% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 17% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $757.9 million
Expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2004)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.1% (2003 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $488.6 billion (2003)

Exports: $2.076 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products
Partners: US 29.4% Panama 14.4% Mexico 8.8% Haiti 5.6% Venezuela 4.9% Bahamas The 4.5% (2005)

Imports: $4.383 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: crude petroleum food manufactures
Partners: Venezuela 52.3% US 21.4% Italy 4.9% Netherlands 4.6% (2005)

Debt external: $2.68 billion (2004)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2006) 1.79 (2005) 1.79 (2004) 1.79 (2003) 1.79 (2002)

Electricity
Production: 1.017 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 945.8 million kWh (2003)
Exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2003 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 81,000 (2001)
Mobile cellular: 200,000 (2004)

Telephone system
General assessment: generally adequate facilities
Domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
International: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Internet
Country code: .an
Hosts: 31,812 (2006)
Users: 2000 (2000)

Military service age and obligation: 16 years of age for National Guard recruitment; no conscription (2004)

Airports: 5 (2006)
With paved runways total: 5
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 138 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,096,005 GRT/1,437,692 DWT
By type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 4, cargo 70, carrier 12, chemical tanker 3, container 10, liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3
Foreign owned: 125 (Belgium 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 48, Netherlands 53, Norway 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 12, US 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Bopec Terminal Fuik Bay Kralendijk Willemstad

Disputes international: none

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