Netherlands Antilles (2008) | Reunion (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 2 (2002) |
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 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million (2004) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
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) |
Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 364 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.68 billion (2004) | $NA |
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 | overseas department of France |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $21.32 million
note: IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) |
$NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
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. 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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 891 million kWh (2005) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.175 billion kWh (2005) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian) | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (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 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 |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | 217,800 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | US 27.2%, Panama 11.4%, Mexico 9%, Germany 6.2%, Haiti 5.3%, Singapore 4.8%, Bahamas, The 4.2% (2006) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 15 N, 68 45 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 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); 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 | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center | - |
Imports | 282,500 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactures | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Venezuela 71.1%, US 10.4%, Italy 3.7% (2006) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | none (overseas department of France) |
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) | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 83,600 (2005) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Saint Martin 15 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
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) | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence | French law |
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, PDB 1, WIPM 1 note: the government is a coalition of several parties |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.24 years
male: 73.96 years female: 78.65 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 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
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | 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 | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | 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 | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | no regular military forces; National Guard (2008) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
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 | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) | NA |
Population | 223,652 (July 2007 est.) | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.777% (2007 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
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) | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 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: country code - 599; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the Americas-2 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 81,000 (2001) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 200,000 (2004) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2003) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | generally hilly, volcanic interiors | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17% (2002 est.) | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |