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Compare Netherlands Antilles (2008) - Solomon Islands (2002)
Compare Netherlands Antilles (2008) z Solomon Islands (2002)
| Netherlands Antilles (2008) | Solomon Islands (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul (Lauru), Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell/Bellona, Temotu, Western |
| 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: 43.4% (male 109,339; female 105,170)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 134,125; female 130,804) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,467; female 7,881) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 31 (2001) |
| 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
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 20 (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: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
| Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| 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 UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. |
| Birth rate | 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 33.26 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million (2004) |
revenues: $38 million (2001)
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
| 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) |
Honiara |
| Climate | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
| Coastline | 364 km | 5,313 km |
| Constitution | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended | 7 July 1978 |
| 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: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
| Currency | - | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
| Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.19 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.68 billion (2004) | $137 million (2001 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
| 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jeremiah MANELE
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
| 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) |
$28 million mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ (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. 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 bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. |
| Electricity - consumption | 891 million kWh (2005) | 29.76 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 1.175 billion kWh (2005) | 32 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian) | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
| Exchange rates | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.3728 (December 2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (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 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir John LAPLI (since NA 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
| Exports | 217,800 bbl/day (2004) | $165 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum products | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US 27.2%, Panama 11.4%, Mexico 9%, Germany 6.2%, Haiti 5.3%, Singapore 4.8%, Bahamas, The 4.2% (2006) | Japan 22%, China 15%, Philippines 13%, South Korea 12%, UK 12%, Thailand 5% (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 | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | -10% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 12 15 N, 68 45 W | 8 00 S, 159 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); 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 | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea |
| Highways | - | total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
| 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) | $152 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactures | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Venezuela 71.1%, US 10.4%, Italy 3.7% (2006) | Australia 27%, Singapore 25%, NZ 5.5%, Japan 5.3%, US 5.1% (2000) |
| Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 7 July 1978 (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) | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
| 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.) |
23.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (2003 est.) | 7.9% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) | Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 83,600 (2005) | 26,842 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) |
| 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: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.64% other: 97.86% (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) | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
| Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence | English common law, which is widely disregarded |
| 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 National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held by December 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.24 years
male: 73.96 years female: 78.65 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.82 years
male: 69.38 years female: 74.39 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
| 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 | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 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) |
none (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | - |
| Military branches | no regular military forces; National Guard (2008) | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
| 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) | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
| Nationality | noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
| 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 | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
| Natural resources | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
| Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 |
Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) | NA |
| Population | 223,652 (July 2007 est.) | 494,786 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.777% (2007 est.) | 2.91% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
| 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) | Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
| 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 81,000 (2001) | 8,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 200,000 (2004) | 658 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2003) | 0 (1997) |
| Terrain | generally hilly, volcanic interiors | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
| Total fertility rate | 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 17% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | - | none |
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