The Netherlands Antilles was a group of islands that dissolved in the year 2010. It consisted of two island groups: the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, located off the coast of Venezuela; and the SSS islands of Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, located near the Virgin Islands. The government exercised executive power and shared legislative power with parliament. Executive power was exercised by a governor, a 6-year term appointed official, and the prime minister and his 8-member Cabinet, who was appointed for 4-year terms.
The small economy of the Netherlands Antilles consisted of tourism, petroleum transshipment, and oil refinery. Almost all of their goods were imported from Venezuela, the United States, and Mexico. They also received developmental aid from the Dutch government. The population resulted from mainly descendants of former colonists and slaves, but some of the population came from nearby Caribbean islands and Asia. Major languages included Papiamentu, a hybrid of Dutch, Portuguese and West African languages. The SSS islands also spoke an English-based creole dialect, formally known as Netherlands Antilles Creole.