Netherlands Antilles

(part of the Dutch realm) Netherlands Antilles

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curaçao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands

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, Curaçao, 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
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m

Natural Resources

Phosphates (Curaçao only)
Salt (Bonaire only)

Land Use

Arable land: 8%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 0%
Forest and woodland: 0%
Other: 92%

Irrigated Land

Environment

Current issues: NA
Natural hazards: Curaçao 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 (extended from Netherlands)

PEOPLE

Population

208,968 (July 1996 est.)
203,505 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

26% (female 25,349; male 26,577) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

67% (female 69,273; male 67,485) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

7% (female 8,599; male 6,222) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.03% (1996 est.)
1.06% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

15.98 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
16.23 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

5.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
5.26 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 77.06 years (1996 est.); 76.94 years (1995 est.)
Male: 74.78 years (1996 est.); 74.67 years (1995 est.)
Female: 79.46 years (1996 est.); 79.33 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

1.9 children born/woman (1995 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 that can read and write (1981)

Total population: 98%
Male: 98%
Female: 99%

Labor Force

89,000

By occupation:

Government 65%
Industry and commerce 28% (1983)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles
Local long form: none
Local short form: Nederlandse Antillen

Digraph

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 was appointed by the Staten

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 Prime Minister 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), Broertje JANJA

Curaçao

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 Curaçao (DP), Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA

Saba

Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Ray HASSELL; Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Steve HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS

Sint Eustatius

Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), Julian WOODLEY; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Ingrid WHITFIELD

Sint Maarten

Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Sarah WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance JAMES; Serious Alternative People's Party (SAPP) Julian ROLLOCKS

Member of

Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO (associate)

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, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten

ECONOMY

Overview

Tourism and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela and the US being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.92 billion (1994 est.); $1.85 billion (1993 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

1.8% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$10,400 (1994 est.)
$10,000 (1993 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

1.5% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

13.4% (1993 est.)

Budget

Revenues: $209 million
Expenditures: $232 million, including capital expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)

Exports

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

Commodities:

Petroleum products 98%

Partners:

U.S. 39%
Brazil 9%
Colombia 6%

Imports

$1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

Commodities:

Crude petroleum 64%
Food
Manufactures

Partners:

Venezuela 26%
U.S. 18%
Colombia 6%
Netherlands 6%
Japan 5%

External Debt

$1.95 billion (December 1995)
$672 million (December 1991)

Industrial Production

Growth rate NA

Electricity

Capacity: 200,000 kW
Production: 810 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 4,054 kWh (1993)

Industries

Tourism (Curaçao and Sint Maarten)
Petroleum refining (Curaçao)
Petroleum transshipment facilities (Curaçao and Bonaire)
Light manufacturing (Curaçao)

Agriculture

Chief products - aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit

Illicit Drugs

Money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American cocaine and marijuana bound for the U.S. and Europe

Economic Aid

Recipient: 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

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

0 km

Highways

Total: 944 km
Paved: 299 km
Unpaved: 645 km

Ports

Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad

Merchant Marine

Total: 119 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,003 GRT/1,490,958 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 38, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load carrier 18, oil tanker 9, passenger 4, refrigerated cargo 27, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 4
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

NA telephones; generally adequate facilities

Local: NA
Intercity: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
International: 2 submarine cables; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0
Radios: 205,000 (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 64,000 (1992 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 56,058; males fit for military service 31,558; males reach military age (20) annually 1,734 (1995 est.)

Note: Defense is responsibility of the Netherlands

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 3 january 1998

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