Compare Netherlands Antilles (2006) - Sierra Leone (2005)

Compare Netherlands Antilles (2006) z Sierra Leone (2005)

	Netherlands Antilles (2006)	Sierra Leone (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) note: each island has its own government	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 23.9% (male 27,197/female 25,886) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 71,622/female 77,710) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 7,925/female 11,396) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,318,508/female 1,371,164) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,068/female 1,637,276) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 93,047/female 103,580) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports	5 (2006)	10 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	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 (2006)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
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: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative	more than five times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than South Carolina
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 southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France).	The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability.
Birth rate	14.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	42.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $757.9 million expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004)	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)
Capital	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)	Freetown
Climate	tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline	364 km	402 km
Constitution	29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
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: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone
Death rate	6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	20.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$2.68 billion (2004)	$1.5 billion (2002 est.)
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: 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	chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international	none	domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient	$21.5 million IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)	$103 million (2001 est.)
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 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. 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.	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during an 11 year civil war have not been implemented due to lack of foreign investment. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. International financial institutions contributed over $600 million in development aid and budgetary support in 2003.
Electricity - consumption	945.8 million kWh (2003)	237.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	1.017 billion kWh (2003)	255.3 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Environment - current issues	NA	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian	20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Exchange rates	Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001)	leones per US dollar - 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001), 2,092.1 (2000)
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 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 2007) note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP St. Maarten, UP Bonaire, WIPM Saba, DP Statia	chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	petroleum products	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999)
Exports - partners	US 29.4%, Panama 14.4%, Mexico 8.8%, Haiti 5.6%, Venezuela 4.9%, Bahamas, The 4.5% (2005)	Belgium 61.6%, Germany 11.8%, US 5.4% (2004)
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	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 49% industry: 30% services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2004 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 15 N, 68 45 W	8 30 N, 11 30 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)	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Heliports	-	2 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	crude petroleum, food, manufactures	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995)
Imports - partners	Venezuela 52.3%, US 21.4%, Italy 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2005)	Germany 14%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.7%, UK 9.1%, US 8.4%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5%, South Africa 4.1% (2004)
Independence	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)	27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA
Industries	tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)	diamonds mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 143.64 deaths/1,000 live births male: 161.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 125.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.1% (2003 est.)	1% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate)	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	290 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force	83,600 (2005)	1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 1% industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.)	agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries	total: 15 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use	arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005)	arable land: 6.98% permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.13% (2001)
Languages	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)	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Legal system	based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	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, BDP 1, WIPM 1 note: the government of Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE is a coalition of several parties	unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.03 years male: 73.76 years female: 78.41 years (2006 est.)	total population: 39.87 years male: 37.74 years female: 42.06 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.)
Location	Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 152 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,289,462 GRT/1,671,649 DWT by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 13, cargo 68, chemical tanker 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 143 (Belgium 4, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 60, Netherlands 54, Norway 5, Sweden 5, Turkey 9, UK 3, US 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Netherlands 1) (2006)	total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 2 (2005)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands	-
Military branches	no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005)	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$13.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.7% (2004)
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	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality	noun: Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
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	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources	phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	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	All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders	Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC)	trade unions and student unions
Population	221,736 (July 2006 est.)	6,017,643 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	68% (1989 est.)
Population growth rate	0.79% (2006 est.)	2.22% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Radio broadcast stations	AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Religions	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)	Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 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: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	81,000 (2001)	24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	200,000 (2004)	67,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and four Venezuelan channels) (2004)	2 (1999)
Terrain	generally hilly, volcanic interiors	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate	1.99 children born/woman (2006 est.)	5.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	17% (2002 est.)	NA
Waterways	-	800 km (2003)

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