Demographics
The Netherlands Antilles are a federation of 2 Caribbean island groups some 806 kilometers (500 miles) apart. The first group, known as the Dutch Leeward Islands, comprises Curaçao and Bonaire, and is located about 81 kilometers (50 miles) off the northern coast of Venezuela. The second group, known as the Dutch Windward Islands, is about 242 kilometers (150 miles) east of Puerto Rico, and includes Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.

• Country name: Netherlands Antilles
• Capital Name: Willemstad (on Curaçao)
• Population: 225,369 (July 2008 est.)
• Nationality: Dutch Antillean(s)
• Languages: 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)
• Ethnic Groups: Mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)

Economy
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.

• GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.8 billion (2004 est.)
• GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2004 est.)
• GDP - per capita (PPP): $16,000 (2004 est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (2003 est.)
• Exports: $3.71 billion f.o.b. (2006)
• Imports: $15.74 billion f.o.b. (2006)

Government
Current political relations between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba stem from 1954 and are based on the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a voluntary arrangement between the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. At the time, the Charter represented an end to colonial relations and the acceptance of a new legal system in which each nation would look after their own interests independently, look after their common interests on the basis of equality and provide each other with mutual assistance. In 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom's political alliance. Since 1986, Aruba has had separate status within the Kingdom and is no longer part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherlands Antilles enjoys self-determination on all internal matters and defers to the Netherlands in matters of defense, foreign policy, and some judicial functions.

The Antilles is governed by a popularly elected unicameral "Staten" (parliament) of 22 members. It chooses a prime minister (called minister president) and a Council of Ministers, consisting of six to eight other ministers. A governor, who serves a 6-year term, represents the monarch of the Netherlands. Local government is assigned authority independently on each island. Under the direction of a kingdom-appointed island governor, these local governments have a "Bestuurscollege" (administrative body) made up of commissioners who head the separate governmental departments.

• Administrative divisions: None (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Legal system: Based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
• Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
• Independence: None (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

References
Government of The Netherlands Antilles - Official Website
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - The World Factbook
Nation Master - World Data Center
Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia