10 October 2010 (dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles)
Capital (and largest city)
Kralendijk
Government
(see Politics of the Netherlands)
• Lt. Governor
Edison Rijna
Area
[2]
• Total
288 km2 (111 sq mi)
Population
(1 January 2023)[3]
• Total
24,090[1]
• Density
83.6/km2 (217/sq mi)
Demonym
Bonairean
Languages
• Official
Papiamento[4] • Dutch
Time zone
UTC−4 (AST)
Calling code
+599-7
ISO 3166 code
BQ-BO, NL-BQ1
Currency
US Dollar ($) (USD)
Internet TLD
.nl
.bq[a]
Bonaire (/bɒˈnɛər/bon-AIR,[7]Dutch:[boːˈnɛːr(ə)]ⓘ;[8] Papiamento: [bʊˈne̝i̯ru]) is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Venezuela.[9] Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
As of 1 January 2023, the island's population totaled 24,090 permanent residents,[10] an increase of over 7,500 (or 45.6%) since 2012. The island's total land area is 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi);[2] it is 38.6 kilometres (24.0 mi) long from north to south, and ranges from 5–8 km (3–5 mi) wide from east to west. A short 800 metres (0.50 mi) west of Bonaire across the sea is the uninhabited islet Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi). Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus (Papiamentu: kadushi), with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef. The reefs, beaches and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of the Bonaire National Marine Park, and managed by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA).[11]
Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010,[12] when the island became a special municipality (officially, a "Caribbean public body") within the country of the Netherlands.[13] It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean; the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba.[13][14] 80% of Bonaire's population are Dutch nationals, and nearly 60% of its residents were born in the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.[15]
^"How has the population evolved over the past decade? - the Caribbean Netherlands in numbers 2022 | CBS". Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
^ abCite error: The named reference Rjik was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference OpenData was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference languages was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"BQ – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba". ISO. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
^"Delegation Record for .BQ". IANA. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
^"Bonaire". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
^Mangold, Max. Duden – Das Aussprachewörterbuch. In: Der Duden in zwölf Bänden, Band 6. 7. Auflage. Berlin: Dudenverlag; Mannheim : Institut für Deutsche Sprache, 2015, Seite 242.
^"Map of Bonaire". Caribbean Islands Maps and Guides. 2015-12-18. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
^"The Caribbean Netherlands in Numbers 2022". Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
^"History Klein Bonaire". Stinapa Bonaire. 2014-10-10. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
^Cite error: The named reference NoS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference WOLBES was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Kingdom of the Netherlands_DEF" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
^"Population Caribbean Netherlands stable". CBS. 2016-07-21. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Bonaire (/bɒˈnɛər/ bon-AIR, Dutch: [boːˈnɛːr(ə)] ; Papiamento: [bʊˈne̝i̯ru]) is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality...
The Bonaire national football team (Dutch: Bonairiaans voetbalelftal; Papiamento: Selekshon Bonerianu di futbòl) is the national football team of the...
consisting of three so-called special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the...
Klein Bonaire (Dutch for "Little Bonaire") is a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is part of the Dutch...
"ABC Islands": Aruba (until 1 January 1986) Bonaire including an islet called Klein Bonaire ("Little Bonaire") Curaçao, including an islet called Klein...
that accompany it. The remaining islands are much smaller than Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. They are Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba. Sint Eustatius...
end and is 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point. Alongside Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. The Dutch...
and Sint Maarten (the 'CAS' islands) and the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (BES islands). The term "Dutch Caribbean" is sometimes...
ICAO: TNCB), also called Bonaire International Airport, is an international airport located near Kralendijk on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands...
Prostitution in the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) is legal and regulated. At least 500 foreign women...
The flag of Bonaire, adopted in 11 December 1981, represents the Dutch island in the Caribbean Netherlands. Bonaire commemorates Flag Day on September...
Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao). The language, spelled Papiamento in Aruba and Papiamentu in Bonaire and Curaçao, is largely based...
pronunciation: [ˈkraːlə(n)dɛik]) is the capital city and main port of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The language spoken in the town is Papiamentu...
Divishon Honor – Bonaire or known as Kampionato (literally [the football] championship ) is the top association football league in Bonaire, a special municipality...
HNLMS Bonaire is a Samarang-class gunvessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy, now[when?] under restoration as a museum ship. Bonaire was built for the Royal...
the Netherlands is in Europe, while its three special municipalities (Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius) are located in the Caribbean, as are the other...
Miss Bonaire is a national beauty pageant in Bonaire. Traditionally, Miss Bonaire sent its winners to Miss Universe from 1967 to 1999. From 1973 to 1983...
The Bonaire National Marine Park or BNMP is one of the oldest marine reserves in the world. It includes the sea around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire from the...
October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—became the Caribbean Netherlands, "special municipalities"...
Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents (Dutch plural:...
Antilles was dissolved. Referendums were held on each island. As a result, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands) were incorporated as special...
Tamoya ohboya, also known as the Bonaire banded box jellyfish, is a species of box jellyfish formally described in 2011. Tamoya ohboya was discovered...
of Medicine (AUSOM) (previously Xavier University School of Medicine in Bonaire) is a private medical school located in Willemstad, Curaçao, in the Caribbean...