Economy - overview Tourism, petroleum transshipment, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela and the US being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.

GDP purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -1.3% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $11,500 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15%
services: 84% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 3.6% (1997)

Labor force
total: 89,000
by occupation: government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)

Unemployment rate 12.8% (1993)

Budget
revenues: $277 million
expenditures: $322 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1996 est.)

Industries tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - capacity 200,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 840 million kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 4,128 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit

Exports
total value: $NA
commodities: petroleum products 98% (1993)
partners: US 39%, Brazil 9%, Colombia 6% (1993)

Imports
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures (1993)
partners: Venezuela 26%, US 18%, Colombia 6%, Netherlands 6%, Japan 5% (1993)

Debt - external $1.95 billion (December 1995)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA; the Netherlands Antilles received a $97 million Dutch aid package in 1996, making it the Netherlands' second largest aid recipient behind India

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

NOTE: The information regarding Netherlands Antilles on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Netherlands Antilles Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Netherlands Antilles Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.