| Introduction :: Netherlands Antilles |
Background:
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| 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 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, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France. |
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| Geography :: Netherlands Antilles |
Location:
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| Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands
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Geographic coordinates:
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Bonaire: 12 12 N, 68 15 W
Curacao:
12 10 N, 69 00 W
Saba:
17 38 N, 63 14 W
Sint Eustatius:
17 30 N, 62 58 W
Sint Maarten:
18 04 N, 63 04 W
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 800 sq km
country comparison to the world: 194
land:
800 sq km
water:
0 sq km
note:
includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
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Area - comparative:
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more than five times the size of Washington, DC
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Land boundaries:
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total: 15 km
border countries:
Saint Martin 15 km
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Coastline:
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364 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone:
12 nm
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Climate:
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tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
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Terrain:
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generally hilly, volcanic interiors
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point:
Mount Scenery 862 m
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Natural resources:
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phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
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Land use:
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arable land: 10%
permanent crops:
0%
other:
90% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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NA
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Natural hazards:
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Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October; Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened
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Environment - current issues:
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NA
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Geography - note:
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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); the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the world shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten |
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| People :: Netherlands Antilles |
Population:
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| 227,049 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 22.7% (male 26,429/female 25,162)
15-64 years:
67.7% (male 74,183/female 79,434)
65 years and over:
9.6% (male 8,875/female 12,966) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 33.7 years
male:
31.9 years
female:
35.5 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.732% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
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Birth rate:
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14.19 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
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Death rate:
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6.48 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
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Net migration rate:
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-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 93% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
1.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.68 male(s)/female
total population:
0.93 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 9.09 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 156
male:
9.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
8.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 76.65 years
country comparison to the world: 65
male:
74.33 years
female:
79.09 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.97 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA
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Nationality:
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noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective:
Dutch Antillean
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Ethnic groups:
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mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)
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Religions:
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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)
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Languages:
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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)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
96.7%
male:
96.7%
female:
96.8% (2003 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 14 years
male:
14 years
female:
15 years (2002)
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Education expenditures:
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NA |
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