CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(5 fields)
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
Highways
total: 950 km paved: 300 km unpaved: gravel, earth 650 km
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 note: all but a few are foreign owned, mostly in the Netherlands
Ports
Willemstad, Philipsburg, Kralendijk
Telecommunications
generally adequate facilities; extensive interisland microwave radio relay links; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 2 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
◆ DEFENSE FORCES(4 fields)
Affiliation
(overseas territory of France)
Branches
Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 48,866; fit for military service 27,421; reach military age (20) annually 1,595 (1994 est.)
Note
defense is responsibility of the Netherlands
◆ ECONOMY(19 fields)
Agriculture
hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products - aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not self-sufficient in food
Budget
revenues: $209 million expenditures: $232 million, including capital expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)
Currency
1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Economic aid
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $513 million
Electricity
capacity: 125,000 kW production: 365 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,980 kWh (1992)
Exchange rates
Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.79 (fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)
Exports
$240 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: petroleum products 98% partners: US 39%, Brazil 9%, Colombia 6%
External debt
$701 million (December 1987)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe
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%
Industrial production
growth rate NA%
Industries
tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2% (1993 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$9,700 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
2% (1993 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
16.4% (1991 est.)
◆ GEOGRAPHY(13 fields)
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, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Climate
tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Coastline
364 km
Environment
current issues: NA 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 international agreements: party to - Whaling
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 92%
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
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Terrain
generally hilly, volcanic interiors
◆ GOVERNMENT(25 fields)
Administrative divisions
none (part of the Dutch realm)
Bonaire
Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), Rudy ELLIS; Democratic Party of Bonaire (PDB), Franklin CRESTIAN
Capital
Willemstad
Constitution
29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
Curacao
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 Curacao (DP), Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA
Digraph
NA
Diplomatic representation in US
none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
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; appointed with the advice and approval of the unicameral legislature
FAX
[599] (9) 616489
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, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
Independence
none (part of the Dutch realm)
Judicial branch
Joint High Court of Justice
Legal system
based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Legislative branch
unicameral
Member of
CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen
National holiday
Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Political parties and leaders
political parties are indigenous to each island
Saba
Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Will JOHNSON; Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Vernon HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS
Sint Eustatius
Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), K. Van PUTTEN; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Ralph BERKEL
Sint Maarten
Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Claude WATHEY; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance JAMES
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 Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954
US diplomatic representation
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) 613066
◆ PEOPLE(14 fields)
Birth rate
16.62 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate
5.5 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Ethnic divisions
mixed African 85%, Carib Indian, European, Latin, Oriental
Infant mortality rate
9.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Labor force
89,000 by occupation: government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)
Languages
Dutch (official), Papiamento a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.32 years male: 74.1 years female: 78.66 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1981) total population: 94% male: 94% female: 93%
Nationality
noun: Netherlands Antillean(s) adjective: Netherlands Antillean
Net migration rate
-6.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Population
185,790 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
0.47% (1994 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
Total fertility rate
1.96 children born/woman (1994 est.)