Geography
The Netherlands Antilles consist of a group of five islands in the Caribbean. Curaçao and Bonaire form the Leeward Islands and are located just off the coast of South America. Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba form the Windward Island group and are located in the northeastern Caribbean, approximately 150 miles east of Puerto Rico. Aruba is located to the west of the Leeward Island group, just 30 miles north of the Venezuelan mainland.

Short History
The Leeward and Windward island groups were discovered at the end of the 15th century by Alonso de Ojeda and Christopher Columbus, respectively, and initially settled by the Spanish. In the 17th century, the islands were conquered by the Dutch West Indian Company and have been a part of the Dutch Kingdom ever since.
In 1954, the islands became an independent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island of Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986, when it was granted a "status aparte", and became a separate country within the Dutch Kingdom.
Curaçao is the seat of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. This long, thin island measures 37 miles by 9 miles. It’s a cosmopolitan island with a population of 130.000 representing about 50 different nationalities. The main concentration of the population is in and around Curaçao’s capital, Willemstad.
Bonaire, located to the east of Curaçao, has a population of about 14,000 and is best known for its nature tourism and world-class scuba diving.
Aruba is 19 miles long by 6 miles wide, and Aruba has a population of 100.000 with a wide variety of national origin. The official language is Dutch, and English is widely spoken, but most Arubans speak Papiamento, as do the people in Curaçao and Bonaire.
Sint Maarten is the largest of the three Windward Islands. One of its unique features is that its territory is divided in a French part, and a Netherlands Antilles part. Saba and Sint Eustatius are two islands of volcanic origin, with populations of a few thousand inhabitants each. English is the principle language of the Netherlands Antilles.

Political structure
The ruling monarch of the Netherlands, who is represented in the Netherlands Antilles and in Aruba by a governor, is the formal head of state. The Council of Ministers, headed by a Prime Minister, form the executive branch of government.
The legislative branch is two-layered. Delegates of each island are represented in the parliament (“Staten”) of the Netherlands Antilles, which nominates a Council of Ministers.  Each island has its local government that takes care of the operational tasks on the island. The island legislature (Island Council) nominates Commissioners (“Gedeputeerden”) who, together with the Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Queen of the Netherlands, form the Executive Council (“Bestuurscollege”).
Aruba, being a separate country within the Kingdom, has a single layer of government consisting of an elected Parliament that nominates a Council of Ministers. Democratic elections are held every four years on all islands.

Economy
The economic composition of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba is quite diversified. All islands have a modern infrastructure and telecommunication facilities. While the economic highlights vary by island, the main pillars are tourism, financial services, oil refining, ship repair, trade and international education.