2000 Edition

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).

Area

land

960 sq km

note

includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)

total

960 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Coastline

364 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Mount Scenery 862 m

lowest point

Caribbean Sea 0 m

Environment - current issues

NA

Geographic coordinates

12 15 N, 68 45 W

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

border countries

Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km

total

10.2 km

Land use

arable land

10%

forests and woodland

0%

other

90% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

0%

Location

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

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

exclusive fishing zone

12 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

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

Natural resources

phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Terrain

generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Age structure

0-14 years: 25% (male 27,320; female 26,230) 15-64 years: 67% (male 66,653; female 73,813) 65 years and over: 8% (male 6,701; female 9,417) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

16.94 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

6.42 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian

Infant mortality rate

11.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

76.99 years (2000 est.)

male

72.56 years

total population

74.72 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

99% (1981 est.)

male

98%

total population

98%

Nationality

adjective

Netherlands Antillean

noun

Netherlands Antillean(s)

Net migration rate

-0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

210,134 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.01% (2000 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population

0.92 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.09 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

note

each island has its own government

Capital

Willemstad

Constitution

29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Netherlands Antilles

local long form

none

local short form

Nederlandse Antillen

Data code

NT

Dependency status

part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON

consulate(s) general

J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao

mailing address

P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao

telephone

(9) 4613066

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers elected by the Staten

chief of state

Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989)

election results

Miguel POURIER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA

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 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002)

head of government

Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999)

note

government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP

FAX

(9) 4616489

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

Government type

parliamentary

Independence

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

International organization participation

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

Judicial branch

Joint High Court of Justice, judges appointed by the monarch

Legal system

based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence

Legislative branch

unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government

elections

last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002)

note

the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties

National holiday

Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Political parties and leaders

Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR ; C 93 ; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB ; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Ephraim JONCKHEER]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME ; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National People's Party or PNP ; New Antilles Movement or MAN ; Nos Patria [Chin BEHILIA]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA ; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB ; People's Party or PAPU ; Pro Curacao Party or PPK ; Saba Democratic Labor Movement ; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA ; Serious Alternative People's Party or SAPP ; Social Action Cause or KAS ; Socialist Independent or SI [George HUECK]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM ; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL

note

political parties are indigenous to each island

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit

Budget

expenditures

$741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

revenues

$710.8 million

Currency

1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$1.35 billion (1996)

Economic aid - recipient

$NA; note - Netherlands provided a $97 million aid package in 1996

Economy - overview

Tourism, petroleum transshipment, 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, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.

Electricity - consumption

949 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

1.02 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

100%

hydro

0%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)

Exports

$303 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities

petroleum products 98% (1993)

Exports - partners

US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

1%

industry

15%

services

84% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $11,800 (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-0.3% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$1.3 billion (c.i.f., 1998)

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures (1993)

Imports - partners

Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.1% (1998)

Labor force

89,000

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

14.9% (1998 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

6 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

217,000 (1997)

Telephone system

generally adequate facilities

domestic

extensive interisland microwave radio relay links

international

2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

75,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

11,727 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997)

Televisions

69,000 (1997)

Airports

5 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

300 km

total

600 km

unpaved

300 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

note

a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Belgium owns 9 ships, Germany 1 (1998 est.)

ships by type

bulk 2, cargo 27, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 16, liquified gas 4, multi-functional large load carrier 18, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 26, roll-on/roll-off 6 (1999 est.)

total

110 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,028,910 GRT/1,285,837 DWT

Ports and harbors

Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad

Railways

0 km

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Military branches

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

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 53,766 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 30,137 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

20 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

1,534 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

none

Illicit drugs

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

NETHERLANDS