Reunion (2006) | Netherlands Antilles (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 5 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
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) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 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 | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | more than five times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | 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). |
Birth rate | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004) |
Capital | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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) |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 207 km | 364 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.68 billion (2004) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | 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 | none (overseas department of France) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) | $21.5 million IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | 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 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) | 945.8 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) | 1.017 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) 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 |
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 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% | petroleum products |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) | US 29.4%, Panama 14.4%, Mexico 8.8%, Haiti 5.6%, Venezuela 4.9%, Bahamas, The 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 12 15 N, 68 45 W |
Geography - note | 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 | 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) |
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 | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) | Venezuela 52.3%, US 21.4%, Italy 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU, WFTU | ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 299,000 (2002) | 83,600 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 15 km
border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | 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) |
Legal system | French law | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence |
Legislative branch | 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); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) 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 (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 76.03 years
male: 73.76 years female: 78.41 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | 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 |
Map references | World | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) | 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) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) | no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | 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: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | 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, arable land, hydropower | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP | 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) |
Population | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) | 221,736 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.34% (2006 est.) | 0.79% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | 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) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300,000 (2001) | 81,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 579,200 (2004) | 200,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and four Venezuelan channels) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.99 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (2002) | 17% (2002 est.) |