GeographicalArea: 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
Terrain and Climate: generally hilly, volcanic interiors, tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Population: 225,369 July 2008
Ethnicity: mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)
Capital: Willemstad on Curacao
Government: Parliamentarybased on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence, unicameral States or Staten (22 seats, Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
Major 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)
Major Religion: Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census)
Life Expectancy: 76.45 years
Monetary Unit:Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
Exchange Controls and Taxation: Yes
Stamp Tax: Yes on some transactions
Main Exports: Petroleum and Petroleum Products
Compulsory Education: Up to age 16
GDP: $16,000 per capita (2004 est.)
Annual Growth Rate: 1%
Major Industry: tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Communication: Broad Spectrum Analysis – generally good
Internet: .an
International dialing code: 1 + 599
Known as “tax-haven” for qualified individuals
Number of Banks: About 45 offshore banks
Head of State:chief of state: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits Goedgedrag (since 1 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage (since 26 March 2006)
Radio: AM 8, FM 19
Television: 3 (there is also a cable service that supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels)
Time Zone: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Airport: 5
Banks
Centrale Hypotheek Bank N.V.
First Caribbean Bank Lombard Atlantic Bank N.V.
Nedship Bank (America) N.V.
Noro Management Services N.V.
ABN Amro
Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles
Banco di Caribe N.V.
Girobank N.V.
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank N.V.
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (Bonaire) N.V.
Orco Bank N.V.
SFT Bank N.V.
The Windward Islands Bank N.V.
Some of the International banks:
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
American Express Overseas Credit Corporation N.V.
Bancaribe Curaçao Bank N.V.
Banco Industrial de Venezuela (Curaçao Branch)
Banco Mercantil C.A. S.A.C.A. (Curaçao Branch)
Banco de Venezuela, S.A. Banco Universal (Curaçao Branch)
BBVA Banco Provincial S.A. (Curaçao Branch)
CFM Bank N.V.
Deutsche Bank Finance N.V.
DVB Bank America N.V.
F. van Lanschot Bankiers (Curaçao) N.V
Fortis Bank (Curaçao) N.V.
ING Bank N.V. (Curacao Branch)
ING Midddenbank Curaçao N.V.
Maduro & Curiel's Bank International N.V.
NIB Capital Bank (NA) N.V.
Rabobank Curaçao N.V.
Windward Island Bank International N.V.
Netherland Antilles
Full Name: Netherland Antilles
GeographicalArea: 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
Terrain and Climate: generally hilly, volcanic interiors, tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Population: 225,369 July 2008
Ethnicity: mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)
Capital: Willemstad on Curacao
Government: Parliamentarybased on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence, unicameral States or Staten (22 seats, Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
Major 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)
Major Religion: Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census)
Life Expectancy: 76.45 years
Monetary Unit:Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
Exchange Controls and Taxation: Yes
Stamp Tax: Yes on some transactions
Main Exports: Petroleum and Petroleum Products
Compulsory Education: Up to age 16
GDP: $16,000 per capita (2004 est.)
Annual Growth Rate: 1%
Major Industry: tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Communication: Broad Spectrum Analysis – generally good
Internet: .an
International dialing code: 1 + 599
Known as “tax-haven” for qualified individuals
Number of Banks: About 45 offshore banks
Head of State:chief of state: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits Goedgedrag (since 1 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage (since 26 March 2006)
Radio: AM 8, FM 19
Television: 3 (there is also a cable service that supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels)
Time Zone: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Airport: 5
Banks
Centrale Hypotheek Bank N.V.
First Caribbean Bank Lombard Atlantic Bank N.V.
Nedship Bank (America) N.V.
Noro Management Services N.V.
ABN Amro
Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles
Banco di Caribe N.V.
Girobank N.V.
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank N.V.
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (Bonaire) N.V.
Orco Bank N.V.
SFT Bank N.V.
The Windward Islands Bank N.V.
Some of the International banks:
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
American Express Overseas Credit Corporation N.V.
Bancaribe Curaçao Bank N.V.
Banco Industrial de Venezuela (Curaçao Branch)
Banco Mercantil C.A. S.A.C.A. (Curaçao Branch)
Banco de Venezuela, S.A. Banco Universal (Curaçao Branch)
BBVA Banco Provincial S.A. (Curaçao Branch)
CFM Bank N.V.
Deutsche Bank Finance N.V.
DVB Bank America N.V.
F. van Lanschot Bankiers (Curaçao) N.V
Fortis Bank (Curaçao) N.V.
ING Bank N.V. (Curacao Branch)
ING Midddenbank Curaçao N.V.
Maduro & Curiel's Bank International N.V.
NIB Capital Bank (NA) N.V.
Rabobank Curaçao N.V.
Windward Island Bank International N.V.
