Location: Caribbean, an island in the Caribbean Sea, 55 km off the coast of Venezuela.
Area: total: 444 sq km, land: 444 sq km, water: 0 sq km.
Natural resources: Calcium phosphates, aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit.
Population: 149,648 (July 2017 est.).
Capital: Willemstad.
Time Zone: UTC−4.
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) 81.2%, Dutch (official) 8%, Spanish 4%, English (official) 2.9%, other 3.9%.
Dependency status: Constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs.
Government type: Parliamentary democracy.
Legal system: Based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence.
Economy: 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 natural resources, poor soil, and inadequate water supplies, and budgetary problems complicate reform of the health and education systems. Although GDP grew only slightly during the past decade, Curacao enjoys a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared to other countries in the region.
Currency: Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG).