Netherlands Antilles

part of the Dutch realm - full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954Independence none (part of the Dutch realm)

Netherlands Antilles as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 71 fields, one of 21 editions from 1990 to 2010.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalWillemstad

Area960 km2

1992

Every edition of Netherlands Antilles

Populationas each edition published it

184,325 people July 1992 · 183,503 in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.4% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 31.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 75.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2 children per woman 1992 · 2 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

11 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 9 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $8,700 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 4% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

960km2

Comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

364km

land boundaries: noneExclusive fishing zone: 12 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm

Land area

960 km2; includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)

Climate

tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

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%

Environment

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

Note

consists of two island groups - Curacao and Bonaire are located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius lie 800 km to the north

People

14 fields

Population

184,325

(July 1992), growth rate 0.3% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

18Death

6Net migration

-9

Literacy

94%

(male 94%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

Nationality

noun - Netherlands Antillean(s); adjective - Netherlands Antillean

Ethnic divisions

mixed African 85%; remainder Carib Indian, European, Latin, and Oriental

Religions

predominantly Roman Catholic; Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist

Languages

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

Labor force

89,000; government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)

Government

Part of the Dutch realm - full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954

19 fields

Digraph

political parties are indigenous to each island ***

Type

part of the Dutch realm - full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954

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

Executive branch

Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, vice prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Leaders

Chief of State:: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since October 1989)
Head of Government:: Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS (since 17 May 1988, previously served from September 1984 to November 1985)

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:: 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

Elections

Staten:: last held on 16 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (22 total) PNP 7, FOL-SI 3, UPB 3, MAN 2, DP-St. M 2, DP 1, SPM 1, WIPM 1, DP-St. E 1, Nos Patria 1;
note - the government of Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS is a coalition of several parties

Member of

CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WTO (associate)

Diplomatic representation

as an autonomous part of the Netherlands, Netherlands Antillean interests in the US are represented by the Netherlands

US:: Consul General Sharon P. WILKINSON;
Consulate General at Sint 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

Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of the | economy.

16 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

(1990 est.)

Unemployment rate

21%

(1991)

External debt

$701.2million

(December 1987)

Budget

Revenues

$454 millionExpenditures

$525 million

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1989 est.)

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 the US being the major supplier.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion, per capita $7,600; real growth rate 1.5% (1990 est.)

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988)

commodities:: petroleum products 98%
partners:: US 40%, Italy 6%, The Bahamas 5%

Imports

$1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988)

commodities:: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
partners:: Venezuela 42%, US 18%, Netherlands 6%

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Electricity

125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced, 1,985 kWh per capita (1991)

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

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $513 million

Currency

Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (plural - guilders, gulden, or florins); 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

6 fields

Merchant marine, 80 ships by typeone square, one ship

passenger 4cargo 27refrigerated cargo 13container 7roll-on/roll-off 9multifunction large-load carrier 11chemical tanker 4liquefied gas 3bulk 1oil tanker; note - all but a few are foreign owned, mostly in the Netherlands 180 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 607,010 GRT/695,864 DWT

Airports, 7 total, 6 usable

permanent-surface runways

6runways over | 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

2runways 1,220-2,439 m