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Compare Bahamas, The (2001) - Netherlands Antilles (2007)

Compare Bahamas, The (2001) z Netherlands Antilles (2007)

 Bahamas, The (2001)Netherlands Antilles (2007)
 Bahamas, TheNetherlands Antilles
Administrative divisions 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)


note: each island has its own government
Age structure 0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486)

15-64 years:
64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674)

65 years and over:
6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 23.6% (male 27,020/female 25,726)


15-64 years: 67.4% (male 72,449/female 78,259)


65 years and over: 9% (male 8,243/female 11,955) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products citrus, vegetables; poultry aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
Airports 65 (2000 est.) 5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total:
36

over 3,047 m:
2

2,438 to 3,047 m:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
16

914 to 1,523 m:
13

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
total: 5


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
29

914 to 1,523 m:
6

under 914 m:
23 (2000 est.)
-
Area total:
13,940 sq km

land:
10,070 sq km

water:
3,870 sq km
total: 960 sq km


land: 960 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Connecticut more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Background Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. 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, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France.
Birth rate 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues:
$766 million

expenditures:
$845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98)
revenues: $757.9 million


expenditures: $949.5 million (2004)
Capital Nassau name: Willemstad (on Curacao)


geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 56 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Coastline 3,542 km 364 km
Constitution 10 July 1973 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
Country name conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas

conventional short form:
The Bahamas
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles


local long form: none


local short form: Nederlandse Antillen


former: Curacao and Dependencies
Currency Bahamian dollar (BSD) -
Death rate 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $385.8 million (2000 est.) $2.68 billion (2004)
Dependency status - an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP

embassy:
Queen Street, Nassau

mailing address:
local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370

telephone:
[1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206

FAX:
[1] (242) 356-0222
chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON


consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao


mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao


telephone: [599] (9) 4613066


FAX: [599] (9) 4616489
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Joshua SEARS

chancery:
2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 319-2660

FAX:
[1] (202) 319-2668

consulate(s) general:
Miami and New York
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Jeffrey CORRION, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $9.8 million (1995) $21.32 million


note: IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)
Economy - overview The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. 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 eight years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Most of the oil Netherlands Antilles imports for its refineries come from Venezuela. 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.
Electricity - consumption 1.362 billion kWh (1999) 891 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 1.465 billion kWh (1999) 1.175 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m
Environment - current issues coral reef decay; solid waste disposal NA
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
-
Ethnic groups black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)
Exchange rates Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002)
Executive branch chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995)

head of government:
Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994)

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation

elections:
none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)


head of government: Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006)


cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature)


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 27 January 2006 (next to be held by 2010)


note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP-St. M, UPB, WIPM Saba, DP-St. E
Exports $376.8 million (2000 est.) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products petroleum products
Exports - partners US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) US 28.5%, Panama 12%, Mexico 9.4%, Haiti 5.6%, Singapore 5.1%, Bahamas, The 4.5% (2006)
Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side 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
GDP purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
3%

industry:
7%

services:
90% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 1%


industry: 15%


services: 84% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 4.5% (2000 est.) 1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 24 15 N, 76 00 W 12 15 N, 68 45 W
Geography - note strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain 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); the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten
Heliports 1 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
2,693 km

paved:
1,546 km

unpaved:
1,147 km (1997)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center
Imports $1.73 billion (2000 est.) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics crude petroleum, food, manufactures
Imports - partners US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) Venezuela 71.2%, US 10.4%, Italy 3.7% (2006)
Independence 10 July 1973 (from UK) none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Infant mortality rate 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 9.63 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.9% (2000 est.) 2.1% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 19 (2000) -
Irrigated land NA sq km NA
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)
Labor force 156,000 (1999) 83,600 (2005)
Labor force - by occupation tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) agriculture: 1%


industry: 20%


services: 79% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km total: 15 km


border countries: Saint Martin 15 km
Land use arable land:
1%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
0%

forests and woodland:
32%

other:
67% (1993 est.)
arable land: 10%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 90% (2005)
Languages English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Legal system based on English common law based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5
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)


elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP-St. E 1, DP-St. M 1, PDB 1, WIPM 1


note: the government is a coalition of several parties
Life expectancy at birth total population:
70.46 years

male:
67.27 years

female:
73.71 years (2001 est.)
total population: 76.24 years


male: 73.96 years


female: 78.65 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
98.2%

male:
98.5%

female:
98% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 96.7%


male: 96.7%


female: 96.8% (2003 est.)
Location Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
Merchant marine total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24

note:
includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.)
total: 138 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,096,005 GRT/1,437,692 DWT


by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 4, cargo 70, carrier 12, chemical tanker 3, container 10, liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3


foreign-owned: 125 (Belgium 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 48, Netherlands 53, Norway 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 12, US 1) (2007)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Military branches Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $20 million (FY95/96) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% -
National holiday Independence Day, 10 July (1973) Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)
Nationality noun:
Bahamian(s)

adjective:
Bahamian
noun: Dutch Antillean(s)


adjective: Dutch Antillean
Natural hazards hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage 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
Natural resources salt, aragonite, timber, arable land phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Net migration rate -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] Bonaire: Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]


Curacao: Ban Vota [Norbert GEORGE]; C-93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; E Mayoria [Aurelio PEDRO]; Forsa Korsou [Nelson NAVARRO]; Liste Ni'un Paso Atras [Nelson PIERRE]; Movemiento Patriotiko Korsou [Reginald LAK]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Partido Akshon Pa Prosperidat I Seguridat [Sonja BERKEMEYER]; Partido Laboral Krusada Popular or PLKP [Errol COVA]; Party for the Restructured Antilles or PAR [Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pidjin [Jasmin PINEDO]; Pueblo Soberano [Herman WIELS]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT]


Saba: Saba Labor Party [Akilah LEVENSTONE]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Ray HASSELL]


Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Progressive Labor Party [Clyde VAN PUTTEN]; St. Eustatius Alliance [Ingrid HOUTMAN-WHITFIELD]


Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Freedom Slate of National Democratic Party [Theophilus PRIEST]; National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [Gracita ARRINDELL]; St. Maarten People's Party [Johan LEONARD]; United People's Labor Party [Bienvenido RICHARDSON]


note: political parties are indigenous to each island
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC)
Population 297,852

note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
223,652 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 0.93% (2001 est.) 0.777% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau -
Radio broadcast stations AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2003)
Radios 215,000 (1997) -
Railways 0 km -
Religions Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census)
Sex ratio at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.72 male(s)/female

total population:
0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.926 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.929 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
modern facilities

domestic:
totally automatic system; highly developed

international:
tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
general assessment: generally adequate facilities


domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links


international: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 96,000 (1997) 81,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 6,152 (1997) 200,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations 1 (1997) 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2003)
Terrain long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Total fertility rate 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 9% (1998 est.) 17% (2002 est.)
Waterways none -
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