Careers, Jobs and Education Resources for: Netherlands Antilles

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