Dutch Caribbean
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Not to be confused with Caribbean Netherlands.
Dutch Caribbean
Flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Location of the Dutch Caribbean islands
Aruba
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Caribbean Netherlands (from left to right): Bonaire
Saba
Sint Eustatius
Area
999 km2 (386 sq mi)
Population (2010)
304,759
Density
305 /km2 (790 /sq mi)
Languages
Dutch, English, Papiamento
Government
3 constituent countries
3 special municipalities
The term Dutch Caribbean refers to the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean and their inhabitants.[1] It is also a term sometimes used to refer to the Caribbean Netherlands,[2] which consists of some of the Dutch Caribbean islands but not all.
Three of the six main islands under Dutch sovereignty are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (which actually comprises only the southern half of the island of Saint Martin). The three remaining islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special municipalities of the Netherlands, which is the fourth constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (and mainly located in Europe). These are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands. There are also several smaller islands, like Klein Curaçao and Klein Bonaire, that belong to one of the island countries or special municipalities.
All the islands have formerly been part of the Netherlands Antilles. Aruba gained autonomy decades earlier than the other island countries, seceding as a separate country in 1986. Curaçao and Sint Maarten followed upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were integrated into the Netherlands proper instead.
[edit] Islands
Main articles: Kingdom of the Netherlands and Caribbean Netherlands
There are several acronyms that indicate groups of islands of the Dutch Caribbean:
ABC islands, for Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao;
BES islands, for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba;
SSS islands, for Saba, Saint Martin and Sint Eustatius.
Dutch Caribbean islands
(within the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Name
Population
(1 Jan 2010)
Area
(km²)
Population density
(inh. per km²)
Source
Countries
Aruba
107,138
193
555
[i]
Curaçao
142,180
444
320
[ii]
Sint Maarten
37,429
34
1,101
[ii]
Special municipalities
(part of the Netherlands)
Bonaire
13,389
294
46
[ii]
Sint Eustatius
2,886
21
137
[ii]
Saba
1,737
13
134
[ii]
Total:
304,759
999
305
i.^ Central Bureau of Statistics (Aruba)
ii.^ a b c d e Central Bureau of Statistics - population and area (former Netherlands Antilles)
Map of the Dutch Caribbean islands.
The Dutch Caribbean islands, shown in the blue background, as how they are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
[edit] See also
Netherlands Antilles
[edit] References
1.^ "Visa for the Dutch Caribbean". Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
2.^ "Rijksdienst Carbische Nederland (Rijksdienst Dutch Caribbean)". Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
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Islands of the former Netherlands Antilles1
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This page was last modified on 16 March 2013 at 18:40.
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