Norfolk Island (2005) | Netherlands Antilles (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.7% (male 27,383; female 26,122)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 69,233; female 75,956) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 7,244; female 10,288) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 5 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2038 to 3047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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) |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | more than five times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $710.8 million
expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Willemstad |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 32 km | 364 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Currency | - | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
Death rate | NA | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $1.35 billion (1996) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | part of 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 | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 remained even in each of the past six 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 986.8 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 1.061 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.79 (2000), 1.79 (1999), 1.79 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 Mirna LOUISA-GODETT (since 11 August 2003) 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 |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | US 20.9%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 10.5%, Guyana 6.6%, Singapore 4.4%, Cuba 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 0% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 12 15 N, 68 45 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 600 km
paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km |
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 | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Venezuela 60.8%, Mexico 11.7%, US 9.7% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 0.4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 89,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 10.2 km
border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 Mirna LOUISA-GODETT 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 75.38 years
male: 73.16 years female: 77.7 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,122,189 GRT/1,398,649 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 56, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 27, liquefied gas 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 15, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 1 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, UK 5 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | 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 |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 55,155 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 30,840 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 1,643 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | 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 |
Natural resources | fish | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | NA | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 216,226 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.9% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: generally adequate facilities
domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 76,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 13,977 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | NA | 2.04 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 15% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |