Economic Overview
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, italy, 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. the netherlands provides financial aid to support the economy.
Environmental Issues
Na
Government Type
Parliamentary
Population
225,369 (july 2008 est.)
Location
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
Area
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)
More than five times the size of washington, dc
Country Aliases
Conventional long form: none
conventional short form: netherlands antilles
local long form: none
local short form: nederlandse antillen
former: curacao and dependencies
Capital
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)
Military Service
16 years of age for national guard recruitment; no conscription (2004)
International Disputes
None
Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
