The term Dutch Caribbean refers to the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...

 that are located in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and their inhabitants, and in the past also to Dutch territory on the northern coast of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

Three of the six main islands presently under Dutch sovereignty are constituent countries

Constituent country

Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a part Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts...

 of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba

Aruba

Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

, Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 and Sint Maarten (which actually comprises only the southern half of the island of Saint Martin

Saint Martin

Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...

). The three remaining islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special municipalities

Public body (Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, the term public body is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state, such as the central government, a province, a municipality or a water board...

 of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, which is the fourth constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (and mainly located in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

). These are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands. There are also several smaller islands, like Klein Curaçao

Klein Curaçao

Klein Curaçao is an 1.7 km2 uninhabited island south-east of Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea, and is part of the country Curaçao. In 1888, a short-lived German naval base was established on the island as part of Imperial expansion into the German Caribbean, although inclement weather eventually...

 and Klein Bonaire

Klein Bonaire

Klein Bonaire is a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is part of the Dutch special municipality of Bonaire. The islet, which sits within the rough crescent formed by the main island, is 6 square kilometres and extremely flat, rising no more than two...

, that belong to one of the island countries or special municipalities.

All the islands have formerly been part of the Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...

. Aruba gained autonomy much earlier than the other islands, seceding as a separate country in 1986. Curaçao and Sint Maarten followed upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were integrated into the Netherlands proper instead.

Islands

There are several acronyms that indicate groups of islands of the Dutch Caribbean:

• ABC islands, for Aruba
  Aruba
  Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
  
  , Bonaire and Curaçao
  Curaçao
  Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
  
  ;
• BES islands
  BES islands
  The Caribbean Netherlands collectively refers to the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located overseas, in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba...
  
  , for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba;
• SSS islands, for Saba, Saint Martin
  Saint Martin
  Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
  
   and Sint Eustatius.

Dutch Caribbean islands

	Name	Population (1 Jan 2010)	Area (km²)	Population density (inh. per km²)	Source
Countries Constituent country Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a part Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts...	Aruba	107,138	193	555
	Curaçao	142,180	444	320
	Sint Maarten	37,429	34	1,101
Special municipalities (part of the Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... )	Bonaire	13,389	294	46
	Sint Eustatius	2,886	21	137
	Saba	1,737	13	134
	Total:	304,759	999	305