(9) 613066
FAX:
[599] (9) 616489
Flag:
white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical
red band also centered; five white five-pointed stars are arranged in an
oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the
five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint
Maarten

*Netherlands Antilles, Economy

Overview:
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of the
economy. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed
infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Unlike many
Latin American countries, the Netherlands Antilles has avoided large
international debt. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with
the US being the major supplier.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.6 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$8,700 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
16.4% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $209 million; expenditures $232 million, including capital
expenditures of $8 million (1992 est.)
Exports:
$200 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
petroleum products 98%
partners:
US 40%, UK 7%, Guadeloupe 5%
Imports:
$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
partners:
Venezuela 42%, US 21%, Netherlands 8%
External debt:
$701 million (December 1987)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
125,000 kW capacity; 365 million kWh produced, 1,980 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum
transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing
(Curacao)
Agriculture:
hampered by poor soils and scarcity of water; chief products - aloes,
sorghum, peanuts, fresh vegetables, tropical fruit; not self-sufficient in
food
Economic aid:
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
$513 million
Currency:
1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.79
(fixed rate since 1989; 1.80 fixed rate 1971-88)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

*Netherlands Antilles, Communications

Highways:
950 km total; 300 km paved, 650 k