Attribute | Value |
---|---|
Geography | |
Area | 444 km² |
Continent | North America |
Land area | 444 km² |
Water area | 0 km² |
Land boundaries | 0 km |
Border countries | Add |
Coastline | 364 km |
Mean elevation | Add |
Lowest point | 0 m |
Highest point | 372 m |
People | |
Population | 151,345 |
Official languages |
|
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Government | |
Long country name | Add |
Short country name | Curacao |
Long local name | Land Curacao (Dutch); Pais Korsou (Papiamento) |
Short local name | Curacao (Dutch); Korsou (Papiamento) |
Former name |
|
Government type | Parliamentary democracy |
Capital | Willemstad |
Economy | |
GDP (PPP) | 3,128,000,000 USD |
GDP (OER) | 5,600,000,000 USD |
GDP (real growth rate) | 3.6 % |
GDP - per capita (PPP) | 15,000 USD |
Gross national saving | Add |
Labor force | 73,010 |
Unemployment rate | 13 % |
Population below poverty line | Add |
Budget revenues | Add |
Budget expenditures | Add |
Military expenditures | Add |
Taxes and other revenues | 16.6 % of GDP |
Budget surplus or deficit | -0.4 % of GDP |
Public debt | 33.2 % of GDP |
Inflation rate | 2.6 % |
Central bank discount rate | Add |
Commercial bank prime lending rate | 14.5 % |
Stock of narrow money | 1,728,000,000 USD |
Stock of broad money | 4,953,000,000 USD |
Stock of domestic credit | 3,882,000,000 USD |
Market value of publicly traded shares | Add |
Current account balance | -400,000,000 USD |
Exports | 839,700,000 USD |
Imports | 540,300,000,000 USD |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 0 USD |
External debt | Add |
National currency | Netherlands Antillean guilders |
National currency (code) | ANG |
National currency (symbol) | ƒ |
National currency rate to USD | 1.79 |
The original Arawak Indian settlers who arrived on the island from South America in about 1000, were largely enslaved by the Spanish early in the 16th century and forcibly relocated to other colonies where labor was needed. Curacao was seized by the Dutch from the Spanish in 1634. 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.