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Country Name
Bonaire.
Location
Is an island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea near the ocean on the lee side of the island. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km off the coast of Venezuela.
Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010 when the island became a special municipality (officially, a "Caribbean public body") within the country of the Netherlands.
Capital
Kralendijk.
Reason for Naming the country
The name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word 'Bonay', meaning 'low country'.
The early Spanish and Dutch modified their spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire. French influence, while present at various times, was never strong enough to make the assumption that the name means 'good air.
Another theory indicates that the name is of Spanish origin, as the Spanish were the first Europeans to colonize the island. And the name would have been derived from "buen aire" (good air).
Flag
The flag of Bonaire, adopted in 1981, represents a Dutch island in the Caribbean Netherlands.
The flag has a large dark blue band in the lower right corner and a smaller yellow band in the upper left corner. The dark blue and yellow bands represent the sea and sun respectively while the dividing white strip represents the sky. The yellow band was formerly red as a reference to the Dutch flag but was changed at some point to avoid having two separate sections of red (from the star).
The colored bands are separated by a white strip, inside of which is a black compass and a red six-pointed star.
The black compass represents the population of Bonaire as a seafaring people, while the arrows adjuting it symbolises equality in the four cardinal directions of the compass. The red six-pointed star represents the original six villages of Bonaire: Antriol, Nikiboko, Nort Saliña, Playa, Rincon, and Tera Korá
Language
As Bonaire is part of the Netherlands, Dutch is the official language and the sole language for all administration and legal matters. However, as of 2017, it is the main language of only 15% of the population around two-thirds use the creole language of Papiamento as their main language.
Religion
Bonaire is predominantly Roman Catholic (68%), and there are also Protestant minorities. As in the rest of the former Netherlands Antilles, the predominant religion in Bonaire is Christianity, with the Catholic Church being especially important.
Although the island passed from the rule of Catholic Spain to the Protestant Netherlands, Catholicism remained the principal island religion.
Bonaire also has an Islamic center and a Jewish community
Currency
Us Dollar ($) (USD).
Time Zone
-04:00 GMT.
Government Regime
A Parliamentary representative democracy
Climate
The climate of Bonaire is tropical semi-arid, hot all year round since the temperature fluctuates between 30 °C and 33 °C (86 °F and 91 °F) during the day. The hottest and more sultry period runs from May to October. However, the northeast trade winds constantly blow, tempering the heat.
From February to August, the south-east trade winds blow, which come from South America and bring dry weather, while from October to January, is the period of the north-east trade winds, which are a little less intense and can sometimes bring rain.
The best time to visit Bonaire runs from mid-February to May. The period from May to October is sultry, even though the trade winds make the heat more bearable. From October to December, the rainfall is moderate, and sometimes the rains, though not excessive, linger until January or mid-February.
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