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Compare Netherlands Antilles (2002) - China (2002)

Compare Netherlands Antilles (2002) z China (2002)

 Netherlands Antilles (2002)China (2002)
 Netherlands AntillesChina
Administrative divisions none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)


note: each island has its own government
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Age structure 0-14 years: 25% (male 27,351; female 26,135)


15-64 years: 67.1% (male 68,431; female 75,312)


65 years and over: 7.9% (male 7,049; female 9,980) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 24.3% (male 163,821,081; female 148,855,387)


15-64 years: 68.4% (male 452,354,428; female 426,055,713)


65 years and over: 7.3% (male 43,834,528; female 49,382,568) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
Airports 5 (2001) 489 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 5


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 324


over 3,047 m: 27


2,438 to 3,047 m: 88


1,524 to 2,437 m: 147


914 to 1,523 m: 30


under 914 m: 32 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 165


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 29


914 to 1,523 m: 56


under 914 m: 78 (2002)
Area 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)
total: 9,596,960 sq km


land: 9,326,410 sq km


water: 270,550 sq km
Area - comparative more than five times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than the US
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 northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe, and its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making, and output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to be relaxed.
Birth rate 16.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 15.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $710.8 million


expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
revenues: $161.8 billion


expenditures: $191.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
Capital Willemstad Beijing
Climate tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Coastline 364 km 14,500 km
Constitution 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles


local long form: none


local short form: Nederlandse Antillen


former: Curacao and Dependencies
conventional long form: People's Republic of China


conventional short form: China


local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo


local short form: Zhong Guo


abbreviation: PRC
Currency Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) yuan (CNY)
Death rate 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1.35 billion (1996) (1996) $149.4 billion (2002 est.)
Dependency status part of 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: Consul General Deborah A. BOLTON


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
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.


embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing


mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002


telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3431


FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929


consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang
Diplomatic representation in the US none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi


chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500


FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Disputes - international none in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding, confidence-building measure; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; ongoing talks with Tajikistan have failed to resolve the longstanding dispute over the indefinite boundary; Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation commits Russia and China to seek peaceable unanimity over disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan; demarcation of the land boundary with Vietnam has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite
Economic aid - recipient IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million $NA
Economy - overview 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 in each of the past five 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. In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities have switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2002, with its 1.28 billion people but a GDP of just $4,600 per capita, China stood as the second largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Access to the World Trade Organization strengthens China's ability to maintain sturdy growth rates, and at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Although Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, many observers believe the rate, while strong, is more like 5%.
Electricity - consumption 1.093 billion kWh (2000) 1.206 trillion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 10.25 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 400 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 1.175 billion kWh (2000) 1.308 trillion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
fossil fuel: 82%


hydro: 17%


nuclear: 1%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues NA air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Environment - international agreements - party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Exchange rates Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989) yuan per US dollar - 8.2767 (January 2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997)
Executive branch 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 Etienne YS (since 3 June 2002)


cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten


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 - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP
chief of state: President Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)


head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998)


cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)


elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress


election results: JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote); HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote)
Exports $276 million f.o.b. (2000) $312.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities petroleum products machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels
Exports - partners US 35.9%, Guatemala 9.4%, Venezuela 8.7%, France 5.4%, Singapore 2.8% (2000) US 20.4%, Hong Kong 17.5%, Japan 16.9%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 3.7%, Netherlands 2.7%, UK 2.6%, Singapore 2.2%, Taiwan (2001)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description 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 red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
GDP purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 1%


industry: 15%


services: 84% (1996 est.)
agriculture: 18%


industry: 49%


services: 33% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -3.5% (2000 est.) 8% (official estimate) (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 15 N, 68 45 W 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note 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) world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak; soybean, one of the oldest of cultivated crops, is believed to have originated in China
Highways total: 600 km


paved: 300 km


unpaved: 300 km (1992)
total: 1.4 million km


paved: 271,300 km (with at least 16,000 km of expressways)


unpaved: 1,128,700 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 30% (1998)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine
Imports $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) $268.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities crude petroleum, food, manufactures machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals
Imports - partners US 25.8%, Mexico 20.7%, Gabon 6.6%, Italy 5.8%, Netherlands 5.5% (2000) Japan 17.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 10.8%, South Korea 9.6%, Germany 5.7%, Hong Kong 3.9%, Russia 3.3%, Malaysia 2.5% (2001)
Independence none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 13.5% (2002 est.)
Industries tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate 11.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) 27.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5.8% (2000 est.) -0.8% (2002 est.)
International organization participation Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 6 3 (2000)
Irrigated land NA sq km 525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
Labor force 89,000 706 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.) agriculture 50%, industry 23%, services 27% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 10.2 km


border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km
total: 22,147.34 km


border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Land use arable land: 10%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 90% (1998 est.)
arable land: 13.31%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.49% (1998 est.)
Languages Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Legal system based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Legislative branch unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 18 January 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FOL 5, PAR 4, PNP 3, PLKP 2, DP-St.M 2, UPB 2, DP 1, MAN 1, PDB 1, WIPM 1


note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held NA December 1997-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 75.15 years


male: 72.96 years


female: 77.46 years (2002 est.)
total population: 71.86 years


male: 70.02 years


female: 73.86 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 98%


female: 99% (1981 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 81.5%


male: 89.9%


female: 72.7% (1995 est.)
Location Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Asia
Maritime claims exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


territorial sea: 12 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Merchant marine total: 123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,056,362 GRT/1,341,735 DWT


ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 39, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 15, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 24, roll on/roll off 7


note: includes foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 3, Denmark 2, Germany 43, Monaco 8, Netherlands 52, New Zealand 1, Norway 3, Peru 1, Spain 1, Sweden 3, United Kingdom 5 (2002 est.)
total: 1,764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,915,047 GRT/25,366,296 DWT


ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 328, cargo 822, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 134, liquefied gas 26, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 263, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $20.048 billion (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending more likely ranges from $45 billion to $65 billion for 2002
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.6% (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending is more likely between 3.5% to 5.0% of GDP for 2002
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 54,752 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 370,087,489 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 30,642 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 203,003,036 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age 20 years of age (2002 est.) 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 1,610 (2002 est.) males: 10,089,458 (2002 est.)
National holiday Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Nationality noun: Dutch Antillean(s)


adjective: Dutch Antillean
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)


adjective: Chinese
Natural hazards 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 frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Natural resources phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Net migration rate -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)
Political parties and leaders Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER]; 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 People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon 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]


note: political parties are indigenous to each island
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders NA no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals
Population 214,258 (July 2002 est.) 1,284,303,705 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 0.93% (2002 est.) 0.87% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)
Radio broadcast stations AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios 217,000 (1997) 417 million (1997)
Railways 0 km (2002) total: 67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)


standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double-track)


narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1999 est.)
Religions Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%


note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female


total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female


total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: generally adequate facilities


domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links


international: submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns


domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place


international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use 76,000 (1995) 135 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 13,977 (1996) 65 million (January 2001)
Television broadcast stations 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Terrain generally hilly, volcanic interiors mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Total fertility rate 2.06 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.82 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 15% (1998 est.) urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.)
Waterways none 110,000 km (1999)
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