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Bonaire |
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Two Dutch island groups (Netherlands Antilles), in the Caribbean Sea - part of five Dutch islands, Curacao, and St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands |
| Country Fact Sheet |
| Capital
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Kralendijk |
| Surface
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112 square miles |
| Currency
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Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) or florin, US dollar widely accepted |
| GDP
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Purchasing power parity - $2.45 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP/Capita
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Purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2003 est.) |
| Language
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Papiamentu (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 65.4%, English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% |
| Religion
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Roman Catholic 72%, Pentacostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% |
| Government
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Parliamentary |
| Time Zone
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GMT -4 hours |
| Telecom Code
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Dial 011+599+717 and then 4 digit local number |
| Airport
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Flamingo International Airport |
| Driving
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On right hand side of the road, license required |
| Electrical
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220 volts 127 volts AC 50 hertz |
| Political Climate
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Stable country |
| Population
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15,000 people (2004 est.) |
| History |
Once the centre of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighbouring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France) |
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| » 101.9 Radio Hoyer 1 |
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| » Bonaire Information Site |
| » Bonaire Travel Guide |
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