12°16′N 69°05′W / 12.27°N 69.08°W
ABC islands
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![]() From left to right, Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire | |
Location of ABC islands in the Leeward Antilles | |
Capitals | 3 capitals |
Languages | 3 languages |
Islands | |
Area | |
• Total | 912 km2 (352 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2014 estimate | 275,650 |
• Density | 298/km2 (771.8/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | $15.977 billion |
• Per capita | $47,683 |
GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $18.852 billion |
• Per capita | $47,113 |
HDI | 0.833 very high |
Currency |
The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State, Venezuela.[1] Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.