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Bes Islands
The Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland, Papiamento: Hulanda Karibe) collectively refers to the three special municipalities (officially public bodies) of the Netherlands that are located overseas, in the Caribbean: the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, also known as the BES islands. Although part of the country of the Netherlands, the special municipalities remain overseas territories of the European Union at least until 2015.

Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is located east of Aruba and Curaçao, close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The three islands gained their current status following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, while at the same time the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Distinctly, the Caribbean Netherlands does not include these autonomous countries (nor Aruba) as it refers only to those Caribbean islands that are administrative divisions of the country of the Netherlands, as opposed to the complete Dutch Caribbean which includes all the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The BES islands have a collective population of 21,000 and a total area of 328 square kilometres (127 sq mi).

 
Saba Island

BES Islands
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