253 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
253 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
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NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
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(part of the Dutch realm)
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 960 km2; land area: 960 km2; includes Bonaire,
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Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the
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island of Saint Martin)
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Comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of
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Washington, DC
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 364 km
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Maritime claims:
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Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; modified by northeast trade winds
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Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors
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Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
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Land use: arable land 8%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
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0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 92%
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Environment: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane
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belt, so rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are
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subject to hurricanes from July to October
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Note: consists of two island groups--Curacao and Bonaire
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are located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint
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Eustatius lie 800 km to the north
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PEOPLE
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Population: 183,872 (July 1991), growth rate 0.2% (1991)
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Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 79 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Netherlands Antillean(s); adjective--Netherlands
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Antillean
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Ethnic divisions: mixed African 85%; remainder Carib Indian,
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European, Latin, and Oriental
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Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic; Protestant, Jewish,
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Seventh-Day Adventist
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Language: Dutch (official); Papiamento, a
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Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates; English widely
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spoken; Spanish
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Literacy: 94% (male 94%, female 93%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1981)
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Labor force: 89,000; government 65%, industry and commerce 28%
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(1983)
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Organized labor: 60-70% of labor force
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: part of the Dutch realm--full autonomy in internal affairs
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granted in 1954
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Capital: Willemstad
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Administrative divisions: none (part of the Dutch realm)
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Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm)
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Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
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Netherlands, as amended
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Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
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common law influence
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National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
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Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, vice
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prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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Legislative branch: legislature (Staten)
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Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April
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1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since October 1989);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS (since 17
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May 1988, previously served from September 1984 to November 1985)
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Political parties and leaders: political parties are indigenous
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to each island:
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Curacao--National People's Party (PNP), Maria
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LIBERIA-PETERS;
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New Antilles Movement (MAN), Domenico Felip MARTINA;
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Workers' Liberation Front (FOL), Wilson (Papa) GODETT;
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Socialist Independent (SI), George HUECK and Nelson MONTE;
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Democratic Party of Curacao (DP), Augustin DIAZ;
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Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA;
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Bonaire--Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), C. V. Winklaar;
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Democratic Party of Bonaire (PDB), John Evert (Jopie) ABRAHAM;
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New Force, Rudy ELLIS;
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Sint Maarten--Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M),
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Claude WATHEY;
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Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPM), Romeo PAPLOPHLET;
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Sint Eustatius--Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E),
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Albert
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K. Van PUTTEN; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM), Eric HENRIQUEZ;
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Saba--Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Will
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JOHNSTON; Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Vernon HASSELL; Saba Unity
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Party, Carmen SIMMONDS
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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Staten--last held on 16 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(22 total) PNP 7, FOL-SI-Curacao 3, UPB 3, MAN 2,
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Democratic Party of Sint Maarten 2, Democratic Party of Curacao 1,
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SPM-Sint Maarten 1, WIPM 1, Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius 1,
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Nos Patria-Curacao 1; note--the government of Prime
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Minister Maria LIBERIA-PETERS is a coalition of several parties
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Communists: small leftist groups
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Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL,
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IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WTO (associate)
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Diplomatic representation: as an autonomous part of the
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Netherlands, Netherlands Antillean interests in the US are represented by
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the Netherlands;
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US--Consul General Sharon P. WILKINSON; Consulate General at
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Sint Anna Boulevard 19, Willemstad, Curacao (mailing address P. O.
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Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao); telephone 599 (9) 613066
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Flag: white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center
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superimposed on a vertical red band also centered; five white
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five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the
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blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire,
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Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the
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mainstays of the economy. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and
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a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the
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region. Unlike many Latin American countries, the Netherlands Antilles
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has avoided large international debt. Almost all consumer and capital
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goods are imported, with the US being the major supplier.
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GDP: $1.0 billion, per capita $5,500; real growth rate 3% (1988
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1989)
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Unemployment rate: 20% (1988)
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Budget: revenues $454 million; expenditures $525 million, including
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capital expenditures of $42 million (1989 est.)
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Exports: $959 million (f.o.b., 1988);
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commodities--petroleum products 98%;
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partners--US 55%, UK 7%, Jamaica 5%
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Imports: $935 million (c.i.f., 1988);
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commodities--crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures;
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partners--Venezuela 52%, Nigeria 15%, US 12%
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External debt: $701.2 million (December 1987)
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Industrial production: growth rate NA%
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Electricity: 125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced,
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1,990 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum
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refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and
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Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
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Agriculture: hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief
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products--aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not
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self-sufficient in food
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Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
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commitments (1970-88), $428 million
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Currency: Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin
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(plural--guilders, gulden, or florins);
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1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins
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(NAf.) per US$1--1.79 (fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Highways: 950 km total; 300 km paved, 650 km gravel and earth
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Ports: Willemstad, Philipsburg, Kralendijk
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Merchant marine: 54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 431,958
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GRT/441,056 DWT; includes 4 passenger, 19 cargo, 8 refrigerated cargo,
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6 container, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 7 multifunction large-load
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carrier, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 2 bulk; note--all but a few
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are foreign owned, mostly in the Netherlands
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Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 7 total, 7 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: generally adequate facilities; extensive
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interisland radio relay links; stations--9 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 2 submarine
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cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal
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Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49 49,249; 27,803 fit for military
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service; 1,634 reach military age (20) annually
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Note: defense is responsibility of the Netherlands
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