Netherlands Antilles




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (part of the Dutch realm)


                                 Geography


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
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)
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
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 sq 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


                                  People


Population:
     185,790 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.47% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     16.62 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     5.5 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -6.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     9.6 deaths/1,000 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.)
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 can read and write (1981)
total population:
     94%
male:
     94%
female:
     93%
Labor force:
     89,000




by occupation:
     government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
local long form:
     none
local short form:
     Nederlandse Antillen
Digraph:
     NA
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; appointed with the advice and approval of the
     unicameral legislature
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 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), Franklin CRESTIAN
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
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
Member of:
     CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO
     (associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US:
     none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
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
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


                                  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.
National product:
     GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     2% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $9,700 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     2% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     16.4% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $209 million
expenditures:
     $232 million, including capital expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)
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%
External debt:
     $701 million (December 1987)
Industrial production:
     growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
     125,000 kW
production:
     365 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,980 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao),
     petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light
     manufacturing (Curacao)
Agriculture:
     hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products - aloes,
     sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not
     self-sufficient in food




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


                              Communications


Highways:
total:
     950 km
paved:
     300 km
unpaved:
     gravel, earth 650 km
Ports:
     Willemstad, Philipsburg, Kralendijk
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
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
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




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