]! ^! 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). 
]" ^" 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 ^# 12 15 N, 68 45 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 960 sq km `" 960 sq km `# 0 sq km `* includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) ^& more than five times the size of Washington, DC ^' `! 15 km `Y Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km ^( 364 km ^) `$ 12 nm `l 12 nm ^* tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds ^+ generally hilly, volcanic interiors ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Mount Scenery 862 m ^- phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) ^. `' 10% `( 0% `) 90% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 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 ^1 NA ^2 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) 
]# ^3 223,652 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 23.6% (male 27,020/female 25,726) `, 67.4% (male 72,449/female 78,259) `- 9% (male 8,243/female 11,955) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 33.1 years `. 31.4 years `/ 34.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.777% (2007 est.) ^7 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.05 male(s)/female `, 0.926 male(s)/female `- 0.69 male(s)/female `2 0.929 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 9.63 deaths/1,000 live births `. 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 76.24 years `. 73.96 years `/ 78.65 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Dutch Antillean(s) `4 Dutch Antillean ^B mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian) ^C 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) ^D 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) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 96.7% `. 96.7% `/ 96.8% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Netherlands Antilles `Z none `[ Nederlandse Antillen `\ Curacao and Dependencies ^G 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 ^H parliamentary ^I `8 Willemstad (on Curacao) `9 12 06 N, 68 56 W `: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) `* each island has its own government ^K none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) ^L Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) ^M 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended ^N based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002) `< Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006) `= Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature) `> 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 2010) `* government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP-St. M, UPB, WIPM Saba, DP-St. E ^Q 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) `> last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010) `? 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, PDB 1, WIPM 1 `* the government is a coalition of several parties ^R Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) ^S 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] `* political parties are indigenous to each island ^T Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) ^U ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO ^V 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 ^W `R Consul General Robert E. SORENSON `V J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao `` P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao `T [599] (9) 4613066 `U [599] (9) 4616489 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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. Most of the oil Netherlands Antilles imports for its refineries come from Venezuela. 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. ^Z $2.8 billion (2004 est.) ^[ NA ^\ 1% (2004 est.) ^] $16,000 (2004 est.) ^^ `@ 1% `A 15% `B 84% (2000 est.) ^_ 83,600 (2005) ^` `@ 1% `A 20% `B 79% (2005 est.) ^a 17% (2002 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 2.1% (2003 est.) _$ `E $757.9 million `F $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004) _& aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit _' tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) _( NA% _) 1.005 billion kWh (2004) _* 934.7 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 70,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $2.076 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _4 petroleum products _5 US 29.4%, Panama 14.4%, Mexico 8.8%, Haiti 5.6%, Venezuela 4.9%, Bahamas, The 4.4% (2005) _6 $4.383 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _7 crude petroleum, food, manufactures _8 Venezuela 50.7%, US 20.7%, Italy 4.8%, Netherlands 4.5% (2005) _9 $2.68 billion (2004) _: $21.5 million `* IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) _; Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) _< Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 81,000 (2001) _? 200,000 (2004) _@ `G generally adequate facilities `H extensive interisland microwave radio relay links `I country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004) _B 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2004) _C .an _D 19,204 (2006) _E 2,000 (2000) 
]' _F 5 (2006) _G `! 5 `a 1 `J 1 `b 1 `c 1 `W 1 (2006) _S `! 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 `X 143 (Belgium 4, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 60, Netherlands 54, Norway 5, Sweden 5, Turkey 9, UK 3, US 1) `d 1 (Netherlands 1) (2006) _I Bopec Terminal, Fuik Bay, Kralendijk, Willemstad 
]( _J no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005) _T 16 years of age for National Guard recruitment; no conscription (2004) _K males age 16-49: 54,200 females age 16-49: 56,868 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49: 45,273 females age 16-49: 47,166 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 1,720 females age 16-49: 1,657 (2005 est.) _M defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 
]) _N none _O transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center 