The Caribbean Netherlands
(, ) is a geographic region of the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
located outside of Europe, in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
, consisting of three special municipalities.
These are the islands of
Bonaire,
Sint Eustatius, and
Saba,
["Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" is the listed English name for the territorial grouping in the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1, where the English spelling was corrected with the release o]
ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-9
. as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as
public bodies in the Netherlands and as
overseas territories of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
; as such,
European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
Bonaire (including the
islet of
Klein Bonaire) is one of the
Leeward Antilles and is located close to the coast of
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. Sint Eustatius and Saba are in the main
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
group and are located south of
Sint Maarten and northwest of
Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Caribbean Netherlands, a term distinct from the comprehensive
Dutch Caribbean
The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...
, has a population of 31,980.
Legal status
The three islands gained their current status following the
dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010. At the same time, the islands of
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
and
Sint Maarten became constituent countries () within the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...
. The island of
Aruba is also a constituent country of the Kingdom; Aruba gaining its status in 1986 after seceding from The
Netherlands Antilles.
The constituent countries of the Dutch kingdom are autonomous (self-governing) while the special municipalities (Caribbean Netherlands) are legally part of the constituent country of The Netherlands. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and The Netherlands (which includes Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius).
The term "
Dutch Caribbean
The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...
" may refer to the three special municipalities (e.g. for stamps), but may also refer to all of the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Caribbean Netherlands, not to be confused with the comprehensive Dutch Caribbean, has a population of 31,980 as of 2025. Their total area is .
In 2012, the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands voted for the first time, due to being special municipalities of the Netherlands, in the
2012 Dutch general election.
Administration
The special municipalities () carry many of the functions normally performed by
Dutch municipalities. The executive power rests with the Governing Council headed by an Island governor. The main democratic body is the
island council. Dutch citizens of these three islands are entitled to vote in Dutch national elections and (as all Dutch nationals) in European elections.
Officially the islands are classed in Dutch law as being (literally translated as "public bodies") and not (
municipalities). Unlike normal municipalities, they do not form part of a
Dutch province and the powers normally exercised by provincial councils within municipalities are divided between the island governments themselves and the central government by means of the
National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands. For this reason, they are called "special" municipalities.
Many Dutch laws have a special Caribbean Netherlands version. For example,
social security is not on the same level as it is in the European Netherlands.
National Office
The ''National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands'' () is responsible for taxation, policing, immigration, transport infrastructure, health, education, and social security in the islands and provides these services on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands. This agency was established as the Regional Service Center in 2008 and became the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands on 1 September 2010. The current director is Jan Helmond. The ''Representative for the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba'' represents the Government of the Netherlands on the islands and also performs tasks similar to a
King's Commissioner. The current representative is Gilbert Isabella.
Relationship with the European Union

The islands do not form part of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and instead constitute "overseas countries and territories" (OCT status) of the Union, to which
special provisions apply.
[Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.] The
Lisbon Treaty introduced a procedure where the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
may change the status of an overseas territory of Denmark, France, or the Netherlands regarding the application of the EU treaties to that territory.
[Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.] In June 2008, the Dutch government published a survey of the legal and economic impacts by a switched status from OCT to
outermost region (OMR). The position of the islands was reviewed after a five-year transitional period, which began with the
dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010. The review was conducted as part of the planned review of the Dutch "Act for the
public bodies Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" (), where the islands have been granted the option to become an OMR – and thus a direct part of the European Union.
In October 2015, the review concluded the present legal structures for governance and integration with European Netherlands was not working well within the framework of WolBES, but no recommendations were made in regards of whether a switch from OCT to OMR status would help improve this situation.
Foreign policy and defence
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has overarching responsibility for foreign relations, defence and Dutch nationality law in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. Units of the
Netherlands Armed Forces deployed in the Caribbean include:
* 32 Infantry Company of the
Royal Netherlands Marine Corps on Aruba;
* a Marine Corps detachment on Sint Maarten;
* a Fast Raiding Interception and Special Forces Craft (FRISC) troop (fast boats) on Curaçao and Aruba;
* a company of the
Royal Netherlands Army on Curaçao on a rotational basis;
* a guardship, normally a , from the
Royal Netherlands Navy on station on a rotational basis;
* the Royal Netherlands Navy support vessel ;
* Arumil (Aruban) and Curmil (Curaçaoan) militia elements;
* a Netherlands Armed Forces
Royal Marechaussee brigade.
Additionally, the
Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard is funded by the four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Coast Guard is managed by the Ministry of Defence and is directed by the commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean.
Geography
The Caribbean Netherlands form part of the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
. Within this island group:
*
Bonaire is part of the
ABC islands within the
Leeward Antilles island chain off the
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
n coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin.
*
Saba and
Sint Eustatius are part of the
SSS islands within the
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...
. They are located east of
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and the
Virgin Islands. The locals (French, Spanish,
Dutch and the locally spoken English) consider them part of the Windward Islands, although, in the international English language, the
Windward Islands refer to other islands further south. These two islands are of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for
agriculture. The highest point is
Mount Scenery, , on
Saba. This is the highest point in the country and in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.
File:Caribbean Netherlands map.png, Map showing Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
File:The Netherlands (incl. BES) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.svg, Relative distance between mainland Netherlands in Europe and the Caribbean Netherlands
File:Kingdom of the Netherlands location tree.svg, The Caribbean BES islands are subdivisions of the country of the Netherlands and are therefore referred to as the "Caribbean Netherlands."
File:Bonaire - Caribe (358903421).jpg, Klein Bonaire ( Bonaire in the background)
File:Corner Point (6550002273).jpg, The hilly terrain of Saba
Climate
The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a
tropical climate with warm weather all year round. The Leeward Antilles are warmer and drier than the Windward islands. In summer, the Windward Islands can be subject to
hurricanes.
Forest cover is around 6% of the total land area of the Caribbean Netherlands, equivalent to 1,910 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 1,910 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be
primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 17% of the forest area was found within protected areas.
Currency
Until 1 January 2011, the three islands used the
Netherlands Antillean guilder; after that all three switched to the
U.S. dollar, rather than the
euro (which is used in the European Netherlands) or the
Caribbean guilder (which is being adopted by the other two former Antillean islands of
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
and
Sint Maarten).
Communications
The telephone
country code
A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed.
The term ''country code'' frequently re ...
remains
599, that of the former Netherlands Antilles, and is shared with Curaçao. The
International Organization for Standardization has assigned the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special ...
country code
ISO 3166-2:BQ for these islands.
The
IANA has not established a root zone for the
.bq Internet
ccTLD and whether it will be used is unknown.
See also
*
2010 Bonaire constitutional referendum
*
Identity cards of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
*
ISO 3166-2:BQ, the ISO codes for the subdivisions of the Caribbean Netherlands
*
Postage stamps and postal history of the Caribbean Netherlands
Notes
References
External links
Official website of the National Office for the Caribbean NetherlandsOfficial website of the government of BonaireOfficial website of the government of SabaOfficial website of the government of St. Eustatius
{{Authority control
.
Integral overseas territories
Archipelagoes of the Netherlands
Leeward Islands (Caribbean)
Subdivisions of the Netherlands
Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2010
2010s establishments in the Caribbean
2010 establishments in North America
Dutch diaspora in the Caribbean