Caribbean Netherlands
The Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland, pronounced [kaˈribisˌnedərˌlɑnt] ⓘ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three so-called special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands (an acronym of their names) for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
Caribbean Netherlands | |
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Overseas region of the Netherlands | |
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Seal | |
| Anthem: "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe" (Dutch) (English: "William of Nassau") | |
Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled). From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Special municipalities | |
| Incorporated into the Netherlands | 10 October 2010 (dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles) |
| Official languages | Dutch |
| Recognised regional languages |
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| Government | |
• Monarch | Willem-Alexander |
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• National Rep. | Jan Helmond |
| Area | |
• Total | 322 km2 (124 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 887 m (2,910 ft) |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 27,726 |
• Density | 77/km2 (199.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (AST) |
| ISO 3166 code | BQ, NL-BQ1, NL-BQ2, NL-BQ3 |
| Currency | United States dollar ($) (USD) |
| Internet TLD | |
Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is one of the Leeward Antilles and is located close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are in the main Lesser Antilles group and are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Caribbean Netherlands, which should not be confused with the more comprehensive Dutch Caribbean, has a population of 25,157 as of January 2019.