Compare Netherlands Antilles (2002) - United Kingdom (2003)

Compare Netherlands Antilles (2002) z United Kingdom (2003)

	Netherlands Antilles (2002)	United Kingdom (2003)

Administrative divisions	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) note: each island has its own government	England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties, 29 London boroughs, 12 cities and boroughs, 10 districts, 12 cities*, 3 royal boroughs**; Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset*, Bedfordshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brent, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol***, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Camden*, Cheshire, Cornwall, Coventry, Croydon, Cumbria, Darlington, Derby***, Derbyshire, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Dudley, Durham, Ealing, East Riding of Yorkshire**, East Sussex, Enfield*, Essex, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Hackney, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Haringey, Harrow, Hartlepool, Havering*, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea***, Kent, City of Kingston upon Hull***, Kingston upon Thames**, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Leicester**, Leicestershire, Lewisham*, Lincolnshire, Liverpool*, City of London*, Luton, Manchester, Medway, Merton, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North East Lincolnshire**, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset*, North Tyneside, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham***, Nottinghamshire, Oldham, Oxfordshire, Peterborough**, Plymouth*, Poole, Portsmouth*, Reading, Redbridge, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland, Salford, Shropshire, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield**, Slough, Solihull, Somerset, Southampton***, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire, South Tyneside, Southwark, Staffordshire, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent***, Suffolk, Sunderland**, Surrey, Sutton, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, Wakefield*, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth*, Warrington, Warwickshire, West Berkshire**, Westminster, West Sussex, Wigan, Wiltshire, Windsor and Maidenhead***, Wirral, Wokingham*, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, York****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities, 6 counties; Antrim, County Antrim, Ards, Armagh, County Armagh*, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, County Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, County Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, County Londonderry*, Derry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane, County Tyrone*; Scotland - 32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties, 2 cities and counties*; Isle of Anglesey, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff*, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea*, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan, Wrexham
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: 18.3% (male 5,621,590; female 5,350,319) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit	cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
Airports	5 (2001)	470 (2002)
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: 334 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 83 under 914 m: 59 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 136 2438 to 3047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 112 (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: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Area - comparative	more than five times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Oregon
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.	Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999.
Birth rate	16.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	10.99 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)	revenues: $565 billion expenditures: $540 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 01)
Capital	Willemstad	London
Climate	tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds	temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Coastline	364 km	12,429 km
Constitution	29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended	unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
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: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK
Currency	Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)	British pound (GBP)
Death rate	6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$1.35 billion (1996) (1996)	$NA
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	-
Dependent areas	-	Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
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 William S. FARISH embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 7499-9000 FAX: [44] (0) 7629-9124 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)	chief of mission: Ambassador David G. MANNING chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Seattle
Disputes - international	none	Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against "total shared sovereignty" arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $4.5 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient	IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million	-
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.	The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out, however, that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, together with the subsequent problems of restoring the economy and the polity, involve a heavy commitment of British military forces.
Electricity - consumption	1.093 billion kWh (2000)	346.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	264 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2000)	10.66 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	1.175 billion kWh (2000)	360.9 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	fossil fuel: 73.8% hydro: 0.9% nuclear: 23.7% other: 1.6% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m	lowest point: The Fens -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m
Environment - current issues	NA	continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3%
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups	mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian	English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%
Exchange rates	Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)	British pounds per US dollar - 0.67 (2002), 0.69 (2001), 0.66 (2000), 0.62 (1999), 0.6 (1998)
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister
Exports	$276 million f.o.b. (2000)	2.205 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	petroleum products	manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners	US 35.9%, Guatemala 9.4%, Venezuela 8.7%, France 5.4%, Singapore 2.8% (2000)	US 15.5%, Germany 11.2%, France 9.4%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 7.1%, Belgium 5.2%, Italy 4.4%, Spain 4.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
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	blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories
GDP	purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1.528 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 1.4% industry: 24.9% services: 73.7% (2000)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.)	purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-3.5% (2000 est.)	1.8% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 15 N, 68 45 W	54 00 N, 2 00 W
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)	lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
Heliports	-	11 (2002)
Highways	total: 600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992)	total: 371,913 km paved: 371,913 km (including 3,358 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.7% (1995)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center	gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center
Imports	$1.5 billion f.o.b. (2000)	1.418 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	crude petroleum, food, manufactures	manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 25.8%, Mexico 20.7%, Gabon 6.6%, Italy 5.8%, Netherlands 5.5% (2000)	Germany 12.9%, US 11.9%, France 7.8%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5%, Italy 4.4% (2002)
Independence	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)	England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-3.4% (2002 est.)
Industries	tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)	machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods
Infant mortality rate	11.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 5.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5.8% (2000 est.)	2.1% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate)	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	6	more than 400 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA sq km	1,080 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)	House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary
Labor force	89,000	29.7 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.)	agriculture 1%, industry 25%, services 74% (1999)
Land boundaries	total: 10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km	total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km
Land use	arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (1998 est.)	arable land: 26.41% permanent crops: 0.18% other: 73.41% (1998 est.)
Languages	Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish	English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Legal system	based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence	common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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	bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; pending further reforms, elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 42.1%, Conservative and Unionist 32.7%, Liberal Democrats 18.8%, other 6.4%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29; note - seating as of 15 February 2002: Labor 410, Conservative 164, Liberal Democrats 53, other 32 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been rescinded three times the latest occurring in October 2002; since October 2002 the Northern Ireland Parliament has been suspended); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 75.15 years male: 72.96 years female: 77.46 years (2002 est.)	total population: 78.16 years male: 75.74 years female: 80.7 years (2003 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 has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
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	Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Europe
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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: 295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,752,179 GRT/6,963,112 DWT ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 43, chemical tanker 19, combination ore/oil 1, container 95, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 1, passenger 18, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 50, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 37, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bermuda 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 21, Germany 6, Greece 3, Hong Kong 4, Italy 1, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, Russia 1, South Africa 2, Sweden 11, Taiwan 2, US 5 (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	Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$31.7 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.32% (2002)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 54,752 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 14,877,666 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 30,642 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 12,353,942 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	20 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 1,610 (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	Official Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926)
Nationality	noun: Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean	noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British
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	winter windstorms; floods
Natural resources	phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)	coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land
Net migration rate	-0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 370 km; gas 21,263 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 6,420 km; oil/gas/water 63 km; refined products 4,474 km; water 650 km (2003)
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	Conservative and Unionist Party [Michael HOWARD]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn Jones]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress
Population	214,258 (July 2002 est.)	60,094,648 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	17%
Population growth rate	0.93% (2002 est.)	0.3% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad	Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport, Tyne
Radio broadcast stations	AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios	217,000 (1997)	-
Railways	0 km (2002)	total: 16,893 km standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified) broad gauge: 357 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) (2002)
Religions	Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist	Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers
Telephones - main lines in use	76,000 (1995)	34.878 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	13,977 (1996)	43.5 million (yearend 1998)
Television broadcast stations	3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997)	228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	generally hilly, volcanic interiors	mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Total fertility rate	2.06 children born/woman (2002 est.)	1.66 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (1998 est.)	5.2% (2002 est.)
Waterways	none	3,200 km

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