View Intelligence Dossier Back to 1991 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Airports [time series]

7 total, 7 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

5 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

950 km total; 300 km paved, 650 km gravel and earth

Merchant marine [time series]

54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 431,958 GRT/441,056 DWT; includes 4 passenger, 19 cargo, 8 refrigerated cargo, 6 container, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 7 multifunction large-load carrier, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 2 bulk; note--all but a few are foreign owned, mostly in the Netherlands

Ports [time series]

Willemstad, Philipsburg, Kralendijk

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

generally adequate facilities; extensive interisland radio relay links; stations--9 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 2 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49 49,249; 27,803 fit for military service; 1,634 reach military age (20) annually

Note [time series]

defense is responsibility of the Netherlands

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products--aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not self-sufficient in food

Budget [time series]

revenues $454 million; expenditures $525 million, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1989 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (plural--guilders, gulden, or florins); 1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $428 million

Electricity [time series]

125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced, 1,990 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1--1.79 (fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)

Exports [time series]

$959 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--petroleum products 98%; partners--US 55%, UK 7%, Jamaica 5%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$701.2 million (December 1987)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$1.0 billion, per capita $5,500; real growth rate 3% (1988 est.)

Imports [time series]

$935 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures; partners--Venezuela 52%, Nigeria 15%, US 12%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%

Industries [time series]

tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

3.9% (1989)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

20% (1988)

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical; modified by northeast trade winds

Coastline [time series]

364 km Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

arable land 8%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 92%

Natural resources [time series]

phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Area (Total area) [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

none (part of the Dutch realm)

Capital [time series]

Willemstad

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

small leftist groups

Constitution [time series]

29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

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

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

none (part of the Dutch realm)

Judicial branch [time series]

Joint High Court of Justice 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)

Legal system [time series]

based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence

Legislative branch [time series]

legislature (Staten)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

political parties are indigenous to each island: Curacao--National People's Party (PNP), Maria LIBERIA-PETERS; New Antilles Movement (MAN), Domenico Felip 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; Bonaire--Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), C. V. Winklaar; Democratic Party of Bonaire (PDB), John Evert (Jopie) ABRAHAM; New Force, Rudy ELLIS; Sint Maarten--Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Claude WATHEY; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPM), Romeo PAPLOPHLET; Sint Eustatius--Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), Albert K. Van PUTTEN; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM), Eric HENRIQUEZ; Saba--Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Will JOHNSTON; Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Vernon HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 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-Curacao 3, UPB 3, MAN 2, Democratic Party of Sint Maarten 2, Democratic Party of Curacao 1, SPM-Sint Maarten 1, WIPM 1, Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius 1, Nos Patria-Curacao 1; note--the government of Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS is a coalition of several parties

Government type (Type) [time series]

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

People

Birth rate [time series]

18 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

74 years male, 79 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

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

Net migration rate [time series]

- 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

60-70% of labor force

Population [time series]

183,872 (July 1991), growth rate 0.2% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.0 children born/woman (1991)