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Country Guide > Caribbean > St Eustatius | |
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General Information Area 21 sq km (8 sq miles).
Population 2609 (official estimate 1996). Population Density 124 per sq km. Capital Oranjestad. Geography Politically, St Eustatius is one of three Windward Islands in the Netherlands Antilles; geographically it is part of the Leeward Group of the Lesser Antilles. It lies 286km (178 miles) east of Puerto Rico, 171km (106 miles) east of St Croix, 56km (35 miles) due south of St Maarten and 14km (9 miles) northwest of St Kitts. On the south end of the island is an extinct volcano called The Quill, which has a lush rainforest in the crater. Twice a year, sea turtles clamber up onto the black volcanic sands that rim the island to lay their eggs; giant land crabs hunt on the beaches every night. Government Part of the Netherlands Antilles; dependency of The Netherlands since 1630. Head of State: Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, represented locally by Governor Frits Goedgedrag since 2002. Head of Government: Prime Minister Etienne Ys since 2004. The Netherlands Antilles consist of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten. The capital of the island group is Willemstad, Curaçao. Language Dutch is the official language. Papiamento (a mixture of African, Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish) is the commonly used lingua franca. English and Spanish are also widely spoken. Religion The majority are Protestant with a Roman Catholic minority. Time GMT - 4. Electricity 110 volts AC, 60Hz. Plugs with two flat prongs are in use. Communications Telephone Fully automatic system with good IDD connections. Country code: 599. Outgoing international code: 00. Calls made through the operator are more expensive and include a 15 per cent tax. Mobile telephone Analogue network operated by East Caribbean Cellular (website: www.eastcaribbeancellular.com). Not compatible with GSM handsets but some US handsets can be used. Roaming agreements exist. Internet E-mail provider is goldenrock.net. Public access is available in the library. Telegram Services operated by All American Cables, ANTELECOM and TELEM. Post Airmail to Europe takes four to six days, surface mail four to six weeks. Main post office hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1600. Press No newspapers are published on St Eustatius, but English-language dailies, Daily Herald and St Maarten Guardian are published on St Maarten. Most other newspapers in The Netherlands Antilles are published in Dutch or Papiamento. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
