CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Netherlands Antilles


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!| 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 Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) water: 0 sq km land: 960 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands
 * 12 15 N, 68 45 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 960 sq km
 * more than five times the size of Washington, DC
 * total: 10.2 km
 * 364 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
 * generally hilly, volcanic interiors
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
 * arable land: 10%
 * NA sq km
 * 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
 * NA
 * the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao)
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 70,024; female 76,552) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 7,443; female 10,626) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 30.6 years female: 33.6 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 9.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 73.37 years female: 77.95 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Dutch Antillean !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.)
 * 218,126 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 24.5% (male 27,387; female 26,094)
 * total: 32.1 years
 * 0.86% (2004 est.)
 * 15.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 10.37 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 75.6 years
 * 2.02 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
 * mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian
 * Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
 * Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none former: Curacao and Dependencies local short form: Nederlandse Antillen !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: note: each island has its own government !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: head of government: Prime Minister Etienne YS (since 3 June 2004) 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 18 January 2002 (next to be held by NA 2006) note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, PLKP, DP St. Maarten, UP Bonaire, WIPM Saba, DP Statia cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature) !| Legislative branch: election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, PLKP 2, DP St. M 2, UP Bonaire 2, WIPM 1, DP note: the government of Prime Minister Etienne YS is a coalition of several parties; current government formed after collapse of FOL led government on 4 April 2004 elections: last held 18 January 2002 (next to be held in 2006) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: note: political parties are indigenous to each island !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: none
 * part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
 * parliamentary
 * Willemstad
 * none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April
 * 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
 * based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)
 * unicameral States or Staten (22 seats - Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
 * Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)
 * Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Etienne YS]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National Alliance [William MARLIN]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard HODI]; Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT]
 * NA
 * ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate)
 * none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997 est.) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past seven years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population.
 * purchasing power parity - $2.45 billion (2003 est.)
 * 0.5% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 1%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 2.1% (2003 est.)
 * 89,000 (2000)
 * agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (2000 est.)
 * 15.6% (2002 est.)
 * revenues: $710.8 million
 * aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
 * tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
 * NA
 * 1.061 billion kWh (2001)
 * 986.8 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 72,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $1.579 billion f.o.b. (2002)
 * petroleum products
 * US 21.3%, Venezuela 16%, Bahamas, The 7.6%, Singapore 5.2%, Honduras 4.9%, Guatemala 4.4% (2003)
 * $2.233 billion f.o.b. (2002)
 * crude petroleum, food, manufactures
 * Venezuela 64.8%, US 13.6%, Netherlands 7.8% (2003)
 * $1.35 billion (1996)
 * IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2000)
 * Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
 * ANG
 * Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.79 (2000), 1.79 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 81,000 (2001)
 * 81,000 (2001)
 * general assessment: generally adequate facilities
 * AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004)
 * 217,000 (1997)
 * 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (2004)
 * 69,000 (1997)
 * .an
 * 119 (2001)
 * 6
 * 2,000 (2000)
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!| Highways: paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Belgium 3, Denmark 1, Germany 57, Monaco 4, Netherlands 70, New Zealand 1, Norway 5, Peru 1, Spain 1, Sweden 5, Turkey 2, United Kingdom 6 by type: bulk 4, cargo 59, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 28, liquefied gas 6, multi-functional large load carrier 22, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 1 2038 to 3047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 600 km
 * Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad
 * total: 162 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,317,007 GRT/1,668,499 DWT
 * 5 (2003 est.)
 * total: 5
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military - note:
 * National Guard, Police Force
 * 16 years of age for military recruitment; no conscription (July 2002)
 * males age 15-49: 55,536 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 31,025 (2004 est.)
 * males: 1,660 (2004 est.)
 * defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
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