Economy - overview:
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past eight years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.8 billion (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$16,000 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15%
services: 84% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
83,600 (2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 20%
services: 79% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:
17% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004)

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

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 - production:
1.005 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
934.7 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
70,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Exports:
$2.076 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum products

Exports - partners:
US 29.4%, Panama 14.4%, Mexico 8.8%, Haiti 5.6%, Venezuela 4.9%, Bahamas, The 4.4% (2005)

Imports:
$4.383 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
crude petroleum, food, manufactures

Imports - partners:
Venezuela 50.7%, US 20.8%, Italy 4.8%, Netherlands 4.5% (2005)

Debt - external:
$2.68 billion (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
$21.5 million IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004)

Currency (code):
Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)

Exchange rates:
Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002)