Curacao

agricultural land:

10%;

• arable land 10%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 0%

forest:

0%

other:

90% (2011 est.)

noun:

Curacaoan

adjective:

Curacaoan; Dutch

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.)

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

name:

Willemstad

geographic coordinates:

12 06 N, 68 55 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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

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]

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

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

agriculture:

1.2%

industry:

16.9%

services:

81.8% (2008 est.)

major seaport(s):

Willemstad

oil terminal(s):

Bullen Baai (Curacao Terminal)

bulk cargo port(s):

Fuik Bay (phosphate rock)