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NetherlandsAntilles Overview: TheNetherlandsAntilleslocatedintheCaribbeanisasub-nationalpartoftheKingdomoftheNetherlandsconsistingoffiveislands,eachwiththeirown localgovernments.TheislandsareBonaire,Curacao,Saba,St.Eustatius(Statia)andDutchSintMaarten(whichsharestheislandofSaintMartinwith Saint-Martin,apartoftheFrenchoverseasterritoryofGuadaloupe). Territory: TwoLeewardIslandsofBonaireandCuracaoareofmixedvolcanicandcoralorigin.ThethreeWindwardIslandsofSaba,SintEustatius,andSint Maarten(DutchpartoftheislandofSaintMartin)areallofvolcanicoriginandhilly,withlittleagriculturalland.Totallandarea:960sqkm;Totalareaof water:0sqkmCoastline:364km.Curacao-444sqkm;Bonaire-288sqkm;Saba-13sqkm;SintEustatius(Statia)-21sqkm;SintMaarten(Dutch side)-34sqkm.Shareslandborder(10.2km)withFrenchSaint-Martin-54sqkm.HighestElevation:MountScenery(Saba)862m. Location: TheNetherlandsAntillesisdividedgeographicallyintothenortherngroupofSaba,SintEustatiusandSintMaarten(situatedintheWindwardIslands eastoftheVirginIslands)andthesoutherngroupofBonaireandCuracao(situatedintheLeewardIslandsoffthecoastofVenezuela). LatitudeandLongitude: 1215N,6845W TimeZone: GMT-4 TotalLandArea: 960 EEZ: 12 Climate: Tropical;amelioratedbynortheasttradewinds.CuracaoandBonairearesouthofCaribbeanhurricanebeltandarerarelythreatened;SintMaarten, Saba,andSintEustatiusaresubjecttohurricanesfromJulytoOctober NaturalResources: phosphates(Curacaoonly),salt(Bonaireonly). PleistocenecoralreefterraceslocatedonCuraçao: AsequenceofatleastthreeLateandMiddlePleistocenecoralreefterracesisconservedonCuraçao.ThelessupliftedLowerterraceconsistsoftwo differentcoralreefformations:theHatounitandtheunderlyingCortaleinunit.KSRagesindicateaLastInterglacialageoftheHatounitofabout122ky BP,andacorrelationwiththeLastInterglacialsealevelmaximum.TheESRageoftheunderlyingCortaleinunitisabout216kyBP.Palaeosealevel calculationsimplyacorrelationwiththeyoungestofthreePenultimatecoralreefterraceslocatedontheislandofBarbados,whichwasupliftedmore stronglythantheislandofCuraçao. AmarinesanctuarysurroundsSaba,thesmallestofthefiveislandsoftheNetherlandsAntilles.Theprimaryfocusoftheparkispreservationofitsfish, mammals,reptilesandplantlife.TheparkexistsunderauspicesoftheNetherlandsAntillesNationalParkFoundation. ECONOMY: TotalGDP: 2003 2,450,000,000.00USD PerCapitaGDP: 2003 11,400.00USD %ofGDPperSector: Primary Secondary Tertiary 2000 86% 13% 1% %ofPopulationEmployedbySector Primary Secondary Tertiary 2000 86% 13% 1% ExternalAid/Remittances: IMFprovided$61millionin2000,andtheNetherlandscontinueditssupportwith$40million(2000) Growth: 0.5%(2003est.) LabourForce: 2000 89,000 Unemployment Year: UnemploymentRate(%ofpop.) 2002 15% Industry: Tourism(Curacao,SintMaarten,andBonaire),petroleumrefining(Curacao),petroleumtransshipmentfacilities(CuracaoandBonaire),light manufacturing(Curacao).Tourism,petroleumrefining,andoffshorefinancearethemainstaysofthissmalleconomy,whichiscloselytiedtotheoutside world.AlthoughGDPhasdeclinedorgrownslightlyineachofthepastsevenyears,theislandsenjoyahighpercapitaincomeandawell-developed infrastructurecomparedwithothercountriesintheregion.Almostallconsumerandcapitalgoodsareimported,theUSandMexicobeingthemajor suppliers.Poorsoilsandinadequatewatersupplieshamperthedevelopmentofagriculture.Budgetaryproblemshamperreformofthehealthand pensionsystemsofanagingpopulation. NicheIndustry: Bonaire:Scubadiving,snorkeling,windsurfing,kayaking,cycling,mountainbiking. Curacao:DivingandSnorkeling. St.Maarten:TheSt.MaartenZoo. Saba:Sabalace,or"Spanishwork",isacottageindustryontheisland.Scubadiving,rockclimbing. St.Eustatius(Statia):Ecotourism-Divesitesrangefromcoralreefs,drop-offsandcanyonstohistoricalandrecentwrecks.Therearealsobotanical gardens,hikingtrails,andanextinctvolcanotoenjoy.ThreeNationalParkareas(St.EustatiusMarinePark,QuillBovenNationalPark,MiriamC. SchmidtBotanicalGardens)protectthehighbiodiversityanduniquetropicalecosystemspresentonbothlandandseaandthetotalprotectedarea covers33km2-almosttwicethesizeoftheislandofStEustatius.ThenationalparkssystemwasinitiatedbytheIslandGovernmentin1996toprotect diversehabitatsonandaroundtheisland.TheGovernmentdelegatedmanagementauthorityfortheparkstoalocalNGO–StEustatiusNational ParksFoundation.Numerousendangeredorcriticallyendangeredspeciesareprotectedthroughactiveresearchandmonitoringprogrammes,including threespeciesofseaturtles,theAntilleanIguana,RedBelliedRacerSnake,orchids,cactiandtheendemicvine‘StatiaMorningGlory’. Tourism: ImportsandExports: exportvaluesf.o.b. Tot.ValueofImports 1,579,000,000.00USD(2002) FromEu: ImportPartners(EU:) Imports-partners:Netherlands7.8%(2003) PartnersOutsideEU: ImportPartners: Imports-partners:Venezuela64.8%,US13.6%,(2003)Total valueofimports:$2.233billionf.o.b.(2002) Tot.ValueofExports 1579000000USD(2002) ToEu: ExportPartners: PartnersOutsideEU:: Exports-partners:US21.3%,Venezuela16%,Bahamas,The 7.6%,Singapore5.2%,Honduras4.9%,Guatemala4.4%(2003) Exports:$1.579billionf.o.b.(2002)Exports-commodities: petroleumproducts ExportPartners: MainImports: Commodities:crudepetroleum,food,manufactures MainExports: TRANSPORTATION/ACCESS External: NumberofAirports:5 5civilianairports:Bonaire:Flamingo(code:BON)paved7800ft.Curacao:Wilenstaad/HatoInternational(code:CUR)paved11,100ft.Saba:Yrausquin (SAB)paved.St.Eustatius:St.Eustatius/F.D.Roosevelt(EUX)paved4,200ft.St.Maartin:PrincessJulianaIntl.(SMX)paved7,000ft. NumberofMainPorts:3 Portsandharbors:Kralendijk,Philipsburg,Willemstad Internal: Air 2Yrausquin;St.Eustatius/F.D.Roosevelt Road: Highways:total:600kmpaved:300kmunpaved:300km Sea: n/a OtherFormsofTransportation: EconomicZones: ImportsCuracaoFreeZoneSITCSection(2005):777,577,000NAf.ExportsCuracaoFreeZoneSITCSection(2005):984,549,000NAf.Imports CuracaoSITCSection(2005):1,504,000NAf.ExportsCuracaoSITCSection(2005):145,000NAf.ImportsBonaireSITCSection(2005):126,000NAf. ExportsBonaireSITCSection(2005):23,000NAf.Oilandoilproductsnotincluded. EnergyPolicy: Type Sector TotalEnergy TotalEnergy Public Public Thermic Geothermic Other Domestic Commercial Industry Year Production Consumption Service Lighting (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) (Mwh) 2001 1,061,000,000 0 0 0 986,800,000 0 0 0 0 0 OfficialCurrency: Neth.AntillesGulden(ANG) BankingandInsurance: NumberofBanksandCreditUnions: NumberofAgriculturalCreditUnions: NumberofInsuranceCompanies: Well-developedNetherlandsAntillesbankingsystem.EuropeanandNorthAmericanbankbranches.Mostbankshaveinternationalties. FinancialServices: Locallyestablishedinsurancecompaniesassubsidiariesorrepresentativesofinternationalinsurancecompanies. TheSeptember2007articleintheNationalJournalbyPeterH.StonereportsontheoverseaslobbyingbusinessofPattonBoggsandtheLivingston Group.LivingstonGroupisrepresentingtheNetherlandsAntillesforafeeof$40,000amonth.Thetopmissionofthefirmistohelpnegotiateatax treatywiththeU.S.thatwouldenhancethefinancialcredibilityofCuracao. Communications/E-Commerce: Outwardandopen.Governmentandprivatewebsitesoneconomyandtourismextensive.Englishand/orDutch. Telephonesystem:generalassessment:generallyadequatefacilitiesdomestic:extensiveinterislandmicrowaveradiorelaylinks international:countrycode-599;submarinecables-2;satelliteearthstations-2Intelsat(AtlanticOcean) Radiobroadcaststations:AM8,FM19,shortwave0(2004) Radios:217,000(1997) Televisionbroadcaststations:3(thereisalsoacableservice,whichsuppliesprogramsreceivedfromvariousUSsatellitenetworksandtwoVenezuelan channels)(2004) Televisions:69,000(1997) Internetcountrycode:.an Internethosts:119(2001) InternetServiceProviders(ISPs):6 Internetusers:2,000(2000) PublicOwnership: CompaniespartiallyorcompletelyownedunderafoundationofthelocalgovernmentExecutiveCouncil:WEBNV(water&electricity);TELBONV (telecommunications);SELIBONNV(wastemanagement);TCBNV(tourismpromotion);andothers. LandUse: Arableland:10%;permanentcrops:0;other:90%(2001). Agriculture/Forestry: Poorsoilsandinadequatewatersupplieshamperthedevelopmentofagriculture.Agriculturerepresents1%oftheGDP. MarineActivity: Fishing: Territorialsea,exclusivefishingzone:12nm MarineLife: Coastline:364km Maritimeclaims:territorialsea:12nm exclusivefishingzone:12nm CriticalIssues: JURISDICTIONALRESOURCES Capital: Willemstad. PoliticalSystem: Parliamentary. ItispartoftheKingdomoftheNetherlands;fullautonomyininternalaffairsgrantedin1954;DutchGovernmentresponsiblefordefenseandforeign affairs. ThelegalsystembasedonDutchcivillawsystemwithsomeEnglishcommonlawinfluence. PoliticalParties: AntilleanRestructuringPartyorPAR[EtienneYS];C93[StanleyBROWN];DemocraticPartyofBonaireorPDB[JopiABRAHAM];DemocraticPartyof CuracaoorDP[ErrolHERNANDEZ];DemocraticPartyofSintEustatiusorDP-St.E[JulianWOODLEY];DemocraticPartyofSintMaartenorDP-St.M [SarahWESCOTT-WILLIAMS];FoundationEnergeticManagementAnti-NarcoticsorFAME[EricLODEWIJKS];LaborPartyPeople'sCrusadeorPLKP [ErrolCOVA];NationalAlliance[WilliamMARLIN];NationalPeople'sPartyorPNP[SusanneF.C.CAMELIA-ROMER];NewAntillesMovementorMAN [KennethGIJSBERTHA];PatrioticUnionofBonaireorUPB[RamonsitoBOOI];PatrioticMovementofSintMaartenorSPA[VanceJAMES,Jr.];People's PartyorPAPU[RichardHODI];ProCuracaoPartyorPPK[WinstonLOURENS];SabaDemocraticLaborMovement[SteveHASSELL];SabaUnity Party[CarmenSIMMONDS];St.EustatiusAllianceorSEA[KennethVANPUTTEN];SeriousAlternativePeople'sPartyorSapp[JulianROLLOCKS]; SocialActionCauseorKAS[BennyDEMEI];WindwardIslandsPeople'sMovementorWIPM[WillJOHNSTON];Workers'LiberationFrontorFOL [AnthonyGODETT,RignaldLAK,EdithaWRIGHT] note:politicalpartiesareindigenoustoeachisland. ImportantLegislation: PrincipalTaxes: AssociatedPower: KingdomoftheNetherlands Citizenship: DutchAntillean Paradiplomacy: Caricom(observer),Interpol,IOC,UNESCO(associate),UPU,WCL,WCO,WMO,WTO(associate) HUMANRESOURCES Population:191,780(2007est.)Males:89,244;Females:102,537. Totalfertilityrate:2.02childrenborn/woman(2004est.) Medianage:total:32.1years male:30.6years female:33.6years(2004est.) Populationdensitypersqkm:240. 2007 Island Area(kmsq.) Population %ofTotalPopulation NetherlandsAntilles 960 191,780 240% Population: Year ResidentPopulation AgeofPopulation: 0-14 15-24 25-49 50-64 65andup 2007 43401 24,880 72,595 32,505 18,299 2007 43501 24,880 72,595 32,505 18,299 Migration: MigrationNetherlandsAntilles ImmigrationEmmigration 199866879947 1999556011027 2000631715574 2001675411367 2002106727868 2003122359178 200488234997 CrudeBirthRate: LifeExpedctancy: totalpopulation:75.6years male:73.37years female:77.95years(2004est.) CrudeDeathRate: Ethnicity: mixedblack85%,CaribAmerindian,white,EastAsian ClassDivision: Languages: Dutch(official),Papiamento(aSpanish-Portuguese-Dutch-Englishdialect)predominates,Englishwidelyspoken,Spanish Religion: RomanCatholic,Protestant,Jewish,Seventh-DayAdventist Literacy: definition:age15andovercanreadandwrite totalpopulation:96.7% male:96.7% female:96.8%(2003est.) EducationSystem: TotalPre-schools:() TotalPrimarySchools FirstLevel: SecondLevel: ThirdLevel: TotalSecondarySchools: TotalProfessionalSchools Universities: NumberofSchoolsperIsland: Pre-school Pub NetherlandsAntilles Priv 75 Elementary High-school Prof. University 1 116 2 3 Pub 29 5 Priv Pub Priv 8 2 StudentsEnrolled: Year: Pre-School Elementary High-school Prof. University 2004 9,077 2,180 2,413 285 2,190 High-School Prof. University Teachers Year Pre-School Elementary 1 2 3 SABAUniversitySchoolofMedicine. MedicalServices: AsperDec.31,2006:Pharmacies:46 Physicianswithownpharmacy:3 Healthinstitutionwithownpharmacy:4 HISTORYANDCULTURE History: Referenda: TheNetherlandsAntillesistobedisbandedonDecember15,2008.TherehasbeenanhistoricallackofsupportfortheislandgroupingwithAruba beingthefirsttosecedein1986,thereafterformingitsownstatewithintheKingdomoftheNetherlands. AcommissiononthegovernmentoftheNetherlandsAntilleswasconvenedin2004whichreportedonafuturestatusoftheNetherlandsAntilles.The commissionadvisedarevisionoftheStatuteoftheKingdomoftheNetherlandsinordertoproceedwiththedissolutionoftheNetherlandsAntilles. TwonewassociatedstateswithintheKingdomoftheNetherlandswouldbecreated,CuraçaoandSintMaarten.Bonaire,SabaandSintEustatius wouldbecomeadirectpartoftheNetherlandsasspecialmunicipalities(bijzonderegemeente),aformof"publicbody"(openbaarlichaam)asoutlined inarticle134oftheDutchConstitution.ThesenewmunicipalitieswillresembleordinaryDutchmunicipalitiesinmostwaysbyhavingamayor,aldermen andamunicipalcouncil;andwillhavetointroducemostDutchlaw.ResidentsofthesethreeislandswillbeeligibletovoteinDutchnationaland Europeanelections. SomebenefitsoftheNetherlandsystemwillnotbetransferrabletotheseislands.Socialsecurity,forexample,willnotbeonthesamelevelasitisinthe Netherlands,andtheislandsarenotobligedtointroducetheEuro;perhapsretainingtheAntilleanguilderpendingfurthernegotiations.Also,itis unknownwhetherprostitutionandsame-sexmarriage,whicharelegalonthemainlandoftheNetherlands,willbecomelegalontheseislands. ThefiveislandterritoriesmayalsocontinuetoaccesstheCommonCourtofJusticeofArubaandtheNetherlandsAntilles(withtheJointCourtprobably receivinganewname).Bonaire,SabaandSintEustatiuswillhavetoinvolvetheDutchMinisterofForeignRelationsbeforetheycanmakeagreements withcountriesintheregion. Bonaire,SabaandSt.Eustatiuswereoriginallytobecalledthe"KingdomIslands"(Koninkrijkseilanden).TheKingdomgovernmentwouldconsistofthe governmentoftheNetherlandsandonemandatedministerperCaribbeanstate.ThespecialmunicipalitieswouldberepresentedintheKingdom GovernmentbytheNetherlands,astheycanvotefortheDutchparliament.Presently,theDutchprovinceofNorthHollandhasofferedthethreenew municipalitiestheopportunitytobecomepartofitsprovince. TheNetherlandshasproposedthatthenewEUconstitutionwillallowtheNetherlandsAntillesandArubatooptforthestatusofOutermostRegion (OMR)alsocalledUltraPeripheralRegion(UPR),iftheywish. Aspartoftheagreement,theDutchgovernmenthaveagreedtopayofftheNetherlandsAntilles$US2billiondebt. RecentSignificantEvents: Music,Dance,HandicraftandPatrimony: Sources: BusariO,VervoortM,HermansS,BlomJ.Medicaleducationinthenewmillennium–aCaribbeanperspective.MedicalEducation[serialonline].July 2001;35(7):703-706.BackgroundonmedicaleducationinNetherlandsAntilles. BBCCaribbean.com.Antillesbreak-upcloser.Nov.3,2006.http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2006/11/061103_stmaarten.shtml. StoneP.ForeignAffairs.NationalJournal[serialonline].September22,2007;39(36):60-60. OostindieG.Dependenceandautonomyinsub-nationalislandjurisdictions:ThecaseoftheKingdomoftheNetherlands.RoundTable[serialonline]. September2006;95(386):609-626. CIAWorldFactBook,2004/NetherlandsAntilles:http://www.answers.com/topic/cia-world-fact-book-2004-netherlands-antilles.2008CentralBureauof StatisticsNetherlandsAntilles:http://www.cbs.an//population/population_b3.asp.AirportsinNetherlandsAntilles:http://www.aircraft-charterworld.com/airports/centralamerica/nethantilles.htm Saba,CraterTreasureoftheIndies.NationalGeographic[serialonline].November1940;78(5):597.Historicalbackground. McDonnellS.THEPERFECTMIX.IslandofCuraçaoinNetherlandsAntilles,oneofthesixUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCultural OrganizationWorldHeritagesitesintheCaribbean.June2006;19(6):26-27. FreemanM.It'snotalwaysaboutthefish.ChristianScienceMonitor[serialonline].January10,2000;92(33):12.Background:coralreefs. CeaserM.Sun,Sand,andanM.D.ChronicleofHigherEducation[serialonline].October28,2005;52(10):A55-A60.MedicalschoolsinNetherlands Antilles. StewartK,StewartJ.CREATINGANUNDERSEAPARK.Oceans[serialonline].July1988;21(4):50-57. WelkinsonB.Dutch,Curacao,St.MaartenagreetoautonomyforCaribbeanislands.NewYorkAmsterdamNews[serialonline].November09, 2006;97(46):14-14. SchellmannG,RadtkeU,ScheffcrsA,WhelanF,KelletatD.ESRDatingofCoralReefTerracesonCuraçao(NetherlandsAntilles)withEstimatesof YoungerPlestoceneSeaLevelElevations.JournalofCoastalResearch[serialonline].Fall2004;20(4):947-957. UsefulLinks: IslandStudies.ca www.upei.ca www.google.ca Pleaseaddressqueriesto: InstituteofIslandStudies UniversityofPrinceEdwardIsland(UPEI) 550UniversityAve Charlottetown,PE,Canada,C1A4P3 Copyright2007.InstituteofIsland Studies,UPEI.Educationaland Non-CommercialUseOnly