Caribbean Netherlands
The Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland) is the part of the Netherlands that is in the Caribbean. The rest of the country is in Europe. The Caribbean Netherlands is made up of three special municipalities (bijzondere gemeenten): the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. They are also called the BES islands.
Caribbean Netherlands Caribisch Nederland (Dutch) | |
|---|---|
Overseas region of the Netherlands | |
 Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled) in the Caribbean. From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius. | |
| Coordinates: 12°11′N 68°14′W / 12.183°N 68.233°W | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Municipalities | |
| Made a part of the Netherlands | 10 October 2010 |
| Government | |
| • National Rep. | Wilbert Stolte |
| • Lt. Governors |
|
| Area | |
| • Total | 328 km2 (127 sq mi) |
| (0.8% of the Netherlands) | |
| Highest elevation | 887 m (2,910 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 21,133 |
| • Density | 64/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| (0.1% of the Netherlands) | |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Dutch |
| • Recognised regional |
|
| Time zone | UTC−4 (AST) |
| Calling code | +599 |
| Currency | US dollar (USD)[2] |
| Internet TLD | .nl, .an,a .bq b |
| a. Probably to be discontinued. b. Assigned but not used.[3] | |
The Caribbean Netherlands does not include the other Dutch countries in the Caribbean (Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten). Those are three of the four countries that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[4] The fourth country is the Netherlands proper. The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands are fully part of the Netherlands proper. They were made a part of the Netherlands when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved (broken apart) on 10 October 2010.[5]
Although the islands are now part of the Netherlands, they are not yet part of the European Union. They will instead remain overseas territories[6] until at least 2015.[7] They are different to other municipalities in the Netherlands. Unlike normal municipalities, they do not form part of a Dutch province.[8]
Bonaire is located east of Aruba and Curaçao, close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The BES islands have a total population of 21,000 and a total area of 328 square kilometres (127 sq mi).
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References
Other websites
Media related to Caribbean Netherlands at Wikimedia Commons- Official website of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands
