Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - Netherlands Antilles (2006)

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z Netherlands Antilles (2006)

	Sierra Leone (2007)	Netherlands Antilles (2006)

Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) note: each island has its own government
Age structure	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 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	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish	aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
Airports	10 (2007)	5 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	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)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	-
Area	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 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 South Carolina	more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.	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	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	14.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $757.9 million expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004)
Capital	name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 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; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)	tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Coastline	402 km	364 km
Constitution	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times	29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies
Death rate	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)	$2.68 billion (2004)
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: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793	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	as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998	none
Economic aid - recipient	$343.4 million (2005 est.)	$21.5 million IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)
Economy - overview	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.	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	227.9 million kWh (2005)	945.8 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	245 million kWh (2005)	1.017 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m
Environment - current issues	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	-
Ethnic groups	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians	mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian
Exchange rates	leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)	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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%	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	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish	petroleum products
Exports - partners	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)	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	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue	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: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.1% (2006 est.)	1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 30 N, 11 30 W	12 15 N, 68 45 W
Geography - note	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa	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)
Heliports	2 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)	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	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals	crude petroleum, food, manufactures
Imports - partners	Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)	Venezuela 52.3%, US 21.4%, Italy 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2005)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)	none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair	tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Infant mortality rate	total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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)	1% (2002 est.)	2.1% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate)
Irrigated land	300 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court	Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)
Labor force	1.369 million (1981 est.)	83,600 (2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 1% industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km	total: 15 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km
Land use	arable land: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005)	arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005)
Languages	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)	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	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10	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: 40.58 years male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia	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	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
Merchant marine	total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)	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 the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Military branches	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)	no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)	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: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean	noun: Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean
Natural hazards	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms	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	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite	phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Net migration rate	0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others	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	trade unions and student unions	Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC)
Population	6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)	221,736 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	70.2% (2004)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.292% (2007 est.)	0.79% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%	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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)	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	24,000 (2002)	81,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)	200,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1999)	3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and four Venezuelan channels) (2004)
Terrain	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east	generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Total fertility rate	6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.99 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	17% (2002 est.)
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)	-

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