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Caribbean Netherlands

Caribisch Nederland  (Dutch)
Overseas region of the Netherlands
Flag of Caribbean Netherlands Coat of arms of Caribbean Netherlands
Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled)  in the Caribbean. From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius.
Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled) in the Caribbean. From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius.
Country Netherlands
Municipalities
Made a part of the Netherlands 10 October 2010
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 64.43/km2 (166.87/sq mi)
  (0.1% of the Netherlands)
Languages
 • Official Dutch
 • Recognised regional
Time zone UTC−4 (AST)
Calling code +599
Currency US dollar (USD)
Internet TLD .nl, .an,a .bq b
a. Probably to be discontinued.
b. Assigned but not used.

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.

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. 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.

Although the islands are now part of the Netherlands, they are not yet part of the European Union. They will instead remain overseas territories until at least 2015. They are different to other municipalities in the Netherlands. Unlike normal municipalities, they do not form part of a Dutch province.

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).

Special municipalities of the Netherlands
Flag Name Capital
(and largest city)
Area
(km²)
Population
(31-12-2010)
Density
(per km²)
Bonaire Bonaire Kralendijk 294 15,666 53
Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius Oranjestad 21 3,543 169
Saba (island) Saba The Bottom 13 1,824 140
Total 328 21,133 64


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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Caribe Neerlandés para niños

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