Background: The original Arawak Indian settlers who arrived on Curaçao from South America in about A.D. 1000 were largely enslaved by the Spanish early in the 16th century and forcibly relocated to other colonies where labor was needed. The Dutch seized Curaçao from the Spanish in 1634. Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, Curaçao was hard hit economically when the Dutch abolished 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 oilfields. In 1954, Curaçao and several other Dutch Caribbean colonies were reorganized as the Netherlands Antilles, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In referenda in 2005 and 2009, the citizens of Curaçao voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Area
Total: 444 km²
Land: 444 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 364 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical marine climate, ameliorated by northeast trade winds, results in mild temperatures; semiarid with average rainfall of 60 cm/year

Terrain: generally low, hilly terrain

Elevation
Highest point: Mt. Christoffel 372 m
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2022 est.)
Arable land: 10% (2018)
Forest: 0.2% (2022 est.)
Other: 99.8% (2022 est.)

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards: Curaçao is south of the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened

Geography
Note: Curaçao is a part of the Windward Islands (southern) group in the Lesser Antilles

Population
Total: 153,289 (2024 est.)
Male: 73,755
Female: 79,534
Distribution: largest concentration on the island is Willemstad; smaller settlements near the coast can be found throughout the island, particularly in the northwest
Growth rate: 0.28% (2024 est.)

Languages: 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) 80%, Dutch (official) 8.8%, Spanish 5.6%, English (official) 3.1%, other 2.3%, unspecified 0.3% (2011 est.)
Note: data represent most spoken language in household

Religions: 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.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.2% (male 15,069/female 14,337)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 47,258/female 48,217)
65 years and over: 18.5% (2024 est.) (male 11,428/female 16,980)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 60.6 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 30.8 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 29.8 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 3.4 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 35.5 years
Female: 40.2 years

Population growth rate: 0.28% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 12.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 8.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: largest concentration on the island is Willemstad; smaller settlements near the coast can be found throughout the island, particularly in the northwest

Urbanization
Urban population: 89% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 144,000 WILLEMSTAD (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 77.6 years
Female: 82.3 years

Total fertility rate: 1.96 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Capital
Name: Willemstad
Geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 55 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name means 'William's Town' in Dutch; named after Prince WILLEM of Orange (1533-84), the first stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law

Executive branch
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 Gilmar PISAS (since 14 June 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet sworn-in by the governor
Election/appointment process: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the legislature usually elects the leader of the majority party as prime minister
Most recent election date: 21 March 2025
Expected date of next election: 2,029

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Parliament of Curaçao
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 21 (directly elected)
Electoral system: proportional representation
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 4 years
Most recent election date: 3/19/2021
Parties elected and seats per party: MFK (9); PAR (4); PNP (4); MAN (2); KEM (1); TPK (1)
Percentage of women in chamber: 28.6%
Expected date of next election: 2025

Flag description: on a blue field, a horizontal yellow band divides the flag below the center; two five-pointed white stars -- the smaller above and to the left of the larger -- appear in the upper left

National anthem
Title: 'Himmo di Korsou' (Anthem of Curaçao)
Lyrics/music: Guillermo ROSARIO, Mae HENRIQUEZ, Enrique MULLER, Betty DORAN/Frater Candidus NOWENS, Errol 'El Toro' COLINA
History: adapted 1978; the lyrics, originally written in 1899, were rewritten in 1978 to remove colonial references

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural); note - excerpted from the Netherlands entry
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: 4.2% (2023 est.); 7.9% (2022 est.); 4.2% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 4.2% (2023 est.); 7.9% (2022 est.); 4.2% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 73.2% (2018 est.)
Government consumption: 14.5% (2018 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 34% (2018 est.)
Investment in inventories: 7.1% (2018 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 63.2% (2018 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -92% (2018 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.3% (2023 est.)
Industry: 11.7% (2023 est.)
Services: 73.3% (2023 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, petroleum transshipment, light manufacturing, financial and business services

Exports: $2.107 billion (2023 est.); $2.046 billion (2022 est.); $1.363 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: diamonds, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, petroleum coke (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $2.764 billion (2023 est.); $2.891 billion (2022 est.); $1.91 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, garments, plastic products, packaged medicine (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 51,000 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 27 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 172,000 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 88 (2021 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 68% (2017 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 61,000 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33 (2022 est.)

Airports: 1 (2025)

Merchant marine
Total: 57 (2023)
By type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 1, other 51