Netherlands Antilles

part of the Dutch realmIndependence none (part of the Dutch realm)

Netherlands Antilles as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 83 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 sq km

LocationCaribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one

1995

Every edition of Netherlands Antilles

Populationas each edition published it

203,505 people July 1995 est. · 183,503 in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.06% 1995 est. · 0.4% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 31.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

76.94 years 1995 est. · 75.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.9 children per woman 1995 est. · 2 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 9 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$10,000 1993 est. · $8,700 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

1.8% 1994 est. · 4% in 1993

Geography

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

13 fields

Land useshare of 960 sq km

arable land 8%forest and woodland 0%other 92%permanent crops 0% in all · meadows and pastures 0% in all

Area

960sq km

land area: 960 sq kmcomparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DCnote: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)

Coastline

364km

land boundaries: 0 kmexclusive fishing zone: 12 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

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

International disputes

none

Climate

tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain

generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Natural resources

phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

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 (extended from Netherlands)

People

15 fields

Population

203,505

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 1.06% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

16.23Death

5.26Net migration

-0.38

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years76.94

74.67 · 79.33

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy98%

98% · 99%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

Labor force

89,000

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

Age structure

0-14 years:: 26% (female 25,349; male 26,577)
15-64 years:: 67% (female 69,273; male 67,485)
65 years and over:: 7% (female 8,599; male 6,222) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

9 deaths/1,000 live births (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

Government

Part of the Dutch realm; Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989); Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February 1994)

25 fields

Legislature, 23 seatsone dot, one seat

PAR 8PNP 3SPA 2PDB 2UPB 1MAN 2DP 1WIPM 1DP-St.E 1DP-St.M 1Nos Patria 1

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; 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 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), 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(s) general:: Saint Anna Boulevard 19, Willemstad, Curacao
mailing address:: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
telephone:: [599] (9) 61-3066

FAX

[599] (9) 61-6489

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 and offshore finance are the mainstays of the | economy.

19 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$10,000

(1993 est.)

Real growth rate

1.8%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate NA%

Inflation, consumer prices

1.5%

(1994 est.)

Unemployment rate

13.4%

(1993 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$209 millionExpenditures

$232 million (1992 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $8 million

Installed generating capacity, 200,000 kW

Electricity production

810 millionElectricity consumption per capita

4,054 (1993)

Overview

Tourism 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. 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 - $1.85 billion (1993 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%

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 5 in all

over 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

950Railroads

Highways: paved: 300 km · unpaved: gravel, earth 650 km

Highways

total:: 950 km
paved:: 300 km
unpaved:: gravel, earth 650 km

Ports

Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad

Merchant marine

total:: 110 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,044,553 GRT/1,343,842 DWT
ships by type:: barge carrier 1, bulk 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load carrier 20, oil tanker 2, passenger 4, refrigerated cargo 27, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7

Communications

3 fields

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