Originally settled by Arawak Indians, Curacao was seized by the Dutch in 1634 along with the neighboring island of Bonaire. Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, Curacao was hard hit economically by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of the Isla Refineria to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. In 1954, Curacao and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions were reorganized as the Netherlands Antilles, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In referenda in 2005 and 2009, the citizens of Curacao voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Caribbean, an island in the Caribbean Sea, 30 nm off the coast of Venezuela
12 10 N, 69 00 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 444 sq km
land: 444 sq km
water: 0 sq km
more than twice the size of Washington, DC
0 km
364 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
tropical marine climate, ameliorated by northeast trade winds, results in mild temperatures; semiarid with average rainfall of 60 cm/year
generally low, hilly terrain
mean elevation: NA
elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt. Christoffel 372 m
calcium phosphates, aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
agricultural land: 10%
arable land 10%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0%
forest: 0%
other: 90% (2011 est.)
NA
Curacao is south of the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened
NA
Curacao is a part of the Windward Islands (southern) group
149,035 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Curacaoan
adjective: Curacaoan; Dutch
Afro-Caribbean majority; Dutch, French, Latin American, East Asian, South Asian, Jewish minorities
Papiamento (official) (a creole language that is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and, to a lesser extent, French, as well as elements of African languages and the language of the Arawak) 81.2%, Dutch (official) 8%, Spanish 4%, English (official) 2.9%, other 3.9% (2001 census)
Roman Catholic 72.8%, Pentecostal 6.6%, Protestant 3.2%, Adventist 3%, Jehovah's Witness 2%, Evangelical 1.9%, other 3.8%, none 6%, unspecified 0.6% (2011 est.)
0-14 years: 20.17% (male 15,327/female 14,733)
15-24 years: 14.46% (male 11,239/female 10,314)
25-54 years: 37.24% (male 27,132/female 28,370)
55-64 years: 13.49% (male 8,706/female 11,396)
65 years and over: 14.64% (male 8,993/female 12,825) (2016 est.)
total dependency ratio: 51.1%
youth dependency ratio: 28.7%
elderly dependency ratio: 22.4%
potential support ratio: 4.5% (2015 est.)
total: 36 years
male: 33.3 years
female: 39.8 years (2016 est.)
0.42% (2016 est.)
13.8 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
-1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
largest concentration on the island is Willemstad; smaller settlements near the coast can be found throughout the island, particularly in the northwest
urban population: 89.3% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 2.04% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
WILLEMSTAD (capital) 145,000 (2014)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
total: 7.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 78.3 years
male: 76 years
female: 80.7 years (2016 est.)
2.06 children born/woman (2016 est.)
NA
NA
NA
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)
4.9% of GDP (2013)
total: 18 years
male: 18 years
female: 19 years (2013)
Dutch long form: Land Curacao
Dutch short form: Curacao
Papiamentu long form: Pais Korsou
Papiamentu short form: Korsou
former: Netherlands Antilles; Curacao and Dependencies
etymology: the most plausible name derivation is that the island was designated Isla de la Curacion (Spanish meaning "Island of the Cure" or "Island of Healing") or Ilha da Curacao (Portuguese meaning the same) to reflect the locale's function as a recovery stop for sick crewmen
constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
parliamentary
name: Willemstad
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 55 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: Curacao is one of four constituent parts (countries) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the other three parts are the Netherlands, Aruba, and Sint Maarten
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
King's Day, 27 April 1967
previous 1947, 1955; latest adopted 5 September 2010, entered into force 10 October 2010 (regulates governance of Curacao but is subordinate to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - in October 2010, with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Curacao became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
see the Netherlands
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER of the Netherlands (since 30 April 2013); represented by Governor Lucille A. GEORGE-WOUT (since 4 November 2013)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard WHITEMAN (1 September 2015); Prime Minister Ivar ASJES resigned 31 August 2015
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the parliament
description: unicameral Estates of Curacao or Staten van Curacao (21 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 5 October 2016 (next to be held in October 2020)
election results: percent of vote by party - MAN 16.2%, MFK 16%, PAR 15.1%, KdnT 10.4%, PNP 8.8%, PS 6.7%, Un Korsou Hustu 6.1%, Movementu Progresivo 5.2%; seats by party - MAN 4, MFK 4, PAR 4, KdnT 3, PNP 2, PS 2, Un Korsou Hustu 1, Movementu Progresivo 1
highest court(s): Common Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (consists of judges from the subordinate courts)
judge selection and term of office: NA
subordinate courts: first instance courts, appeals court; specialized courts
Korsou di Nos Tur or KdnT [Amparo dos SANTOS]
Movementu Futuro Korsou or MFK [Gerrit SCHOTTE]
Movementu Progresivo [Marylin MOSES]
Movishon Antia Nobo or MAN [Hensley KOEIMAN]
Partido Antia Restruktura or PAR [Zita JESUS-LEITO]
Partido pa Adelanto I Inovashon Soshal or PAIS [Alex ROSARIA]
Partido Nashonal di Pueblo or PNP [Humphrey DAVELAAR]
Pueblo Soberano or PS [Ivar ASJES]
Un Korsou Hustu [Omayra LEEFLANG]
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
chief of mission: Consul General James R. Moore (since June 2013); note - also accredited to Aruba and Sint Martin
consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg
mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
telephone: [599] (9) 4613066
FAX: [599] (9) 4616489
on a blue field a horizontal yellow band somewhat below the center divides the flag into proportions of 5:1:2; two five-pointed white stars - the smaller above and to the left of the larger - appear in the canton; the blue of the upper and lower sections symbolizes the sky and sea respectively; yellow represents the sun; the stars symbolize Curacao and its uninhabited smaller sister island of Klein Curacao; the five star points signify the five continents from which Curacao's people derive
laraha (citrus tree); national colors: blue, yellow, white
name: Himmo di Korsou (Anthem of Curacao)
lyrics/music: Guillermo ROSARIO, Mae HENRIQUEZ, Enrique MULLER, Betty DORAN/Frater Candidus NOWENS, Errol "El Toro" COLINA
note: adapted 1978; the lyrics, originally written in 1899, were rewritten in 1978 to make them less colonial in nature
$5.6 billion (2012 est.)
Most of Curacao’s GDP results from services. Tourism, petroleum refining and bunkering, offshore finance, and transportation and communications are the mainstays of this small island economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Curacao has limited
Curacao has an excellent natural harbor that can accommodate large oil tankers, and the port of Willemstad hosts a free trade zone and a dry dock. Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA, under a contract in effect until 2019, leases the single refinery on the
The government is attempting to diversify its industry and trade and has signed an Association Agreement with the EU to expand business there. In 2013, the government implemented changes to the sales tax and reformed the public pension and health care sys
$3.128 billion (2012 est.)
$3.02 billion (2011 est.)
$2.96 billion (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
3.6% (2012 est.)
2% (2011 est.)
0.1% (2010 est.)
$15,000 (2004 est.)
agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 15.5%
services: 83.8% (2012 est.)
aloe, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit
tourism, petroleum refining, petroleum transshipment, light manufacturing, financial and business services
NA%
73,010 (2013)
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 16.9%
services: 81.8% (2008 est.)
13% (2013 est.)
9.8% (2011 est.)
16.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
-0.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
33.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
40.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
2.6% (2013 est.)
2.8% (2012 est.)
$1.607 billion (2011 est.)
$1.44 billion (2010 est.)
petroleum products
$1.285 billion (2011 est.)
$1.275 billion (2010 est.)
crude petroleum, food, manufactures
Netherlands Antillean guilders (ANG) per US dollar -
1.79 (2015 est.)
1.79 (2014 est.)
1.79 (2013)
1.79 (2012 est.)
population without electricity: 14,903
electrification - total population: 91%
electrification - urban areas: 91%
electrification - rural areas: 80% (2012)
1.785 billion kWh (2012 est.)
968 million kWh (2008 est.)
0 kWh (2009 est.)
0 kWh (2009 est.)
0 bbl (1 January 2011 es)
531.1 bbl/day (2010 est.)
72,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
211,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)
291,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)
0 cu m (2009 est.)
0 cu m (2009 est.)
0 cu m (2009 est.)
0 cu m (2009 est.)
0 cu m (1 January 2011 es)
international: country code - 599
government-run Telecuracao operates a TV station and a radio station; several privately owned radio stations
.cw
total: 138,750
percent of population: 93.9% (July 2014 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 2
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 11 (2015)
PJ (2016)
total: 550 km
major seaport(s): Willemstad
oil terminal(s): Bullen Baai (Curacao Terminal)
bulk cargo port(s): Fuik Bay (phosphate rock)
no regular military forces; the Dutch Government controls foreign and defense policy (2012)
no conscription (2010)
defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
