Economy of the Netherlands Antilles
Encyclopedia
Tourism, petroleum transshipment
, and offshore finance were the mainstays of the Netherlands Antillean
economy, which was closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoyed a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region at the time of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Almost all consumer and capital goods were imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hampered the development of agriculture.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3 600 million
(3,6 G$) (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4,0% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $19 000 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
1%
industry:
15%
services:
84% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
± 1,5%
highest 10%:
± 31%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3,0% (2007)
Labour force:
83 600 (2005)
Labour force - by occupation:
agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 79% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9% (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$757,9 million
expenditures:
$949,5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.)
Industries:
tourism
(Curaçao
, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum
refining (Curaçao), petroleum transhipment facilities (Curaçao and Bonaire), light manufacturing
(Curaçao)
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
1 005 GWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
934,7 GWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)
Agriculture - products:
aloe
s, sorghum
, peanut
s, vegetable
s, tropical fruit
Exports:
$2 076 million (f.o.b., 2004)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum products
Exports - partners:
US
32%, Panama
10.1%, Guatemala
7,9%, Haiti
6,4%, The Bahamas 5,1% (2005)
Imports:
$4 383 billion (c.i.f., 2004)
Imports - commodities:
crude petroleum, food, manufactures
Imports - partners:
Venezuela
50%, US
22,2%, Italy
5.2%, Netherlands
5% (2005)
Debt - external:
$2 680 million (2004)
Economic aid - recipient:
IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)
Currency:
1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 – 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
, and offshore finance were the mainstays of the Netherlands Antillean
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
economy, which was closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoyed a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region at the time of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Almost all consumer and capital goods were imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hampered the development of agriculture.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3 600 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
(3,6 G$) (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4,0% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $19 000 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
1%
industry:
15%
services:
84% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
± 1,5%
highest 10%:
± 31%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3,0% (2007)
Labour force:
83 600 (2005)
Labour force - by occupation:
agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 79% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9% (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$757,9 million
expenditures:
$949,5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.)
Industries:
tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
(Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
refining (Curaçao), petroleum transhipment facilities (Curaçao and Bonaire), light manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
(Curaçao)
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
1 005 GWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
934,7 GWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)
Agriculture - products:
aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
s, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, tropical fruit
Exports:
$2 076 million (f.o.b., 2004)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum products
Exports - partners:
US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
32%, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
10.1%, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
7,9%, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
6,4%, The Bahamas 5,1% (2005)
Imports:
$4 383 billion (c.i.f., 2004)
Imports - commodities:
crude petroleum, food, manufactures
Imports - partners:
Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
50%, US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
22,2%, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
5.2%, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
5% (2005)
Debt - external:
$2 680 million (2004)
Economic aid - recipient:
IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)
Currency:
1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 – 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year