FAX: (70) 361-4688

consulate(s) general: Amsterdam

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer

Netherlands Economy

Economy - overview: The Netherlands is a prosperous and open economy depending heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. The Dutch economy has expanded by 3% or more in each of the last four years and real GDP growth is likely to be about 3.6% in 2001. The government in 2001 will implement its most comprehensive tax reform since World War II, designed to reduce high income tax levels and redirect the fiscal burden onto consumption. The Dutch were among the first 11 EU countries establishing the euro currency zone on 1 January 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $388.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $24,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.3%

industry: 26.3%

services: 70.4% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%

highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 7.2 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation: services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $134 billion

expenditures: $134 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (2000)

Electricity - production: 85.294 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 90.25%

hydro: 0.11%

nuclear: 4.27%

other: 5.37% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 97.76 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 3.97 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 22.407 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports: $210.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs

Exports - partners: EU 78% (Germany 26%, Belgium-Luxembourg 12%,
France 12%, UK 11%, Italy 6%), Central and Eastern Europe, US (2000)

Imports: $201.2 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing

Imports - partners: EU 56% (Germany 18%, Belgium-Luxembourg 10%, UK 5%, France 6%), US 9%, Central and Eastern Europe (2000)

Debt - external: $0

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $3.5 billion (2000 est.)

Currency: Netherlands guilder (NLG); euro (EUR)

note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in the Netherlands at a fixed rate of 2.20371 Netherlands guilders per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002

Currency code: NLG; EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Netherlands guilders per US dollar - 1.9837 (1998), 1.9513 (1997), 1.6859 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Netherlands Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 9,132,400 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,081,891 (April 1999)

Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed and well maintained

domestic: the existing system of multi-conductor cables is gradually being replaced by fiber-optic cables; the density of cellular telephone traffic is rapidly increasing and further modernization of the system is expected in the year 2001, with the introduction of the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)

international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (1996)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 58, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 15.3 million (1996)

Television broadcast stations: 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 8.1 million (1997)

Internet country code: .nl

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 52 (2000)

Internet users: 6.8 million (2000)

Netherlands Transportation

Railways: total: 2,739 km

standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge; (1,991 km electrified) (1998)

Highways: total: 125,575 km

paved: 113,018 km (including 2,235 km of expressways)

unpaved: 12,557 km (1998)

Waterways: 5,046 km

note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger

Pipelines: crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km

Ports and harbors: Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven,
Groningen, Haarlem, Ijmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen,
Utrecht, Vlissingen

Merchant marine: total: 596 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,321,500 GRT/4,877,632 DWT

ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 371, chemical tanker 43, container 59, liquefied gas 21, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 9, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 29, roll on/roll off 18, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.)

Airports: 28 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 19

over 3,047 m: 2

2,438 to 3,047 m: 7

1,524 to 2,437 m: 6

914 to 1,523 m: 3

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9

914 to 1,523 m: 3

under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Netherlands Military

Military branches: Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 4,083,349 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 3,555,501 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 96,082 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $6.5 billion (FY00/01 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (FY00/01 est.)

Netherlands Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: major European producer of illicit amphetamine and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy

@Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles Introduction

Background: 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 Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe.

Netherlands Antilles Geography

Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands

Geographic coordinates: 12 15 N, 68 45 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

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)

Area - comparative: more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 10.2 km

border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km

Coastline: 364 km

Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m

Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Land use: arable land: 10%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 90% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: 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

Environment - current issues: NA

Netherlands Antilles People

Population: 212,226 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169)

15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599)

65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.97% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 16.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.94 years

male: 72.76 years

female: 77.22 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Dutch Antillean(s)

adjective: Dutch Antillean

Ethnic groups: mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98%

male: 98%

female: 99% (1981 est.)

Netherlands Antilles Government

Country name: conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles

local long form: none

local short form: Nederlandse Antillen

former: Curacao and Dependencies

Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs

Government type: parliamentary

Capital: Willemstad

Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands)

note: each island has its own government

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday: Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April

Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
Netherlands, as amended

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989)

head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA)

note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER

cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten

elections: 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 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002)

note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP

Legislative branch: unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government

note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders: Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR
[Miguel POURIER]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire
or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol
HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian
WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah
WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or
FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol
COVA]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER];
New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union
of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten
or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi];
Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor
Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St.
Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative
People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS
[Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will
JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald
LAK, Editha WRIGHT]

note: political parties are indigenous to each island

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the
Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Consul
General Barbara J. STEPHENSON

consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao

mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao

telephone: (9) 4613066