Compare Netherlands (2005) - British Virgin Islands (2004)

Compare Netherlands (2005) z British Virgin Islands (2004)

	Netherlands (2005)	British Virgin Islands (2004)

Administrative divisions	12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: 18.1% (male 1,523,316/female 1,453,232) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,627,007/female 5,491,802) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 974,037/female 1,338,097) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 21.5% (male 2,402; female 2,361) 15-64 years: 73.5% (male 8,395; female 7,911) 65 years and over: 5% (male 594; female 524) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	27 (2004 est.)	3 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	11.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	14.96 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $256.9 billion expenditures: $274.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997)
Capital	Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government	Road Town
Climate	temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	451 km	80 km
Constitution	adopted 1815; amended many times, last time 2002	1 June 1977
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Currency	-	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Dependent areas	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Boudewijn J. VAN EENENNAAM chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): Boston	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA
Economy - overview	The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-04, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	100.7 billion kWh (2002)	35.43 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	4.5 billion kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	20.9 billion kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	90.61 billion kWh (2002)	38.1 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling	-
Ethnic groups	Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gerrit ZALM (since 27 May 2003) and Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (since 31 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor
Exports	1.418 million bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	Germany 25%, Belgium 12.4%, UK 10.1%, France 9.9%, Italy 6%, US 4.3% (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 2.4% industry: 24.5% services: 73.1% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $29,500 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2004 est.)	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	52 30 N, 5 45 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	-
Highways	total: 116,500 km paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	2.284 million bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	Germany 17.9%, Belgium 9.9%, US 7.9%, China 7.4%, UK 6.4%, France 4.8% (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Independence	23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; it was not until 1648 that Spain recognized their independence)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2004 est.)	NA
Industries	agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.4% (2004 est.)	2.5% (2002)
International organization participation	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	5,650 sq km (1998 est.)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	7.53 million (2004 est.)	4,911 (1980)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 4%, industry 23%, services 73% (1998 est.)	agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries	total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 26.71% permanent crops: 0.97% other: 72.32% (2001)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001)
Languages	Dutch (official), Frisian (official)	English (official)
Legal system	civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	English law
Legislative branch	bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 January 2003 (next to be held May 2007) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%, Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%, D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.81 years male: 76.25 years female: 81.51 years (2005 est.)	total population: 76.27 years male: 75.24 years female: 77.36 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA female: NA
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Europe	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 558 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,796,460 GRT/5,212,557 DWT by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 361, chemical tanker 32, container 48, liquefied gas 13, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 32, roll on/roll off 15, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 139 (Bahamas 5, Belgium 2, Canada 1, Denmark 4, Finland 7, Germany 62, Ireland 13, Norway 9, Sweden 19, United Kingdom 6, United States 11) registered in other countries: 223 (2005)	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Norway 1 registered in other countries: 32 (2004 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK
Military branches	Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Constabulary, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2004)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9.408 billion (2004)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.6% (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	Territory Day, 1 July
Nationality	noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	flooding	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land	NEGL
Net migration rate	2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2004)	-
Political parties and leaders	Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Boris DITTRICH]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Gerard van AS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Jozias VAN AARTSEN]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Netherlands Trade Union Federation (FNV) (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV); Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel (MHP); Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises	NA
Population	16,407,491 (July 2005 est.)	22,187 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA
Population growth rate	0.53% (2005 est.)	2.06% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Amsterdam, Groningen, Ijmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Zaanstad	Road Town
Radio broadcast stations	AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004)	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,808 km standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2004)	-
Religions	Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed and well maintained domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with five major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda
Telephones - main lines in use	10.004 million (2002)	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	12.5 million (2003)	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
Terrain	mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	1.66 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.72 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	6% (2004 est.)	3% (1995)
Waterways	5,046 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2004)	-

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