Map of Curacao
Curacao is a country in North America with its capital at Willemstad, home to about 156,263 people across 444 km². The interactive map below plots 1 cities and towns and 3 ports recorded for Curacao in YearMaps.
- Population
- 156,263
- Area
- 444 km²
- Capital
- Willemstad
- Continent
- North America
Interactive Map of Curacao
Centred on Willemstad at 12.2004° N, 69.0200° W. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Curacao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is an island country located in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela and 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Aruba. Curaçao includes the main island of Curaçao, and the much smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao").
The 2023 census recorded a population of nearly 156,000 people in Curaçao. The country has an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi); its capital is Willemstad. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao forms part of the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao, Aruba, and other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. It is the largest of the ABC islands in terms of both area and population.
The island is known for its indigenous bitter orange-based liqueur, Curaçao, flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha, a citrus fruit grown on the island.
Curaçao was originally inhabited by the Arawak and Caquetío Indigenous Peoples. The first Europeans to explore the island were Spanish, who first reached it in 1499. The island became a Spanish colony after Alonso de Ojeda's 1499 expedition. Though labelled "the Useless Island" due to its poor agricultural yield and lack of precious metals, it later became a strategic cattle ranching area. When the Dutch colonized the island in 1634, they shifted the island's focus to trade and shipping, and later made it a hub of the Atlantic slave trade.
British forces occupied Curaçao twice during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, but it was returned to Dutch rule. The abolition of slavery in 1863 led to economic shifts and migrations. Dutch remains the official language, though Papiamento, English, and Spanish are widely spoken, reflecting the island's diverse cultural influences. Curaçao was part of the Curaçao and Dependencies colony from 1815 to 1954, and part of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 until 2010, as Island Territory of Curaçao.
The discovery of oil in the Maracaibo Basin in 1914 transformed Curaçao into a major refinery location, altering its economic landscape. There were efforts towards becoming a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the island achieved autonomy in 2010.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Curaçao (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Curacao
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.
- Location
- Caribbean, an island in the Caribbean Sea, 55 km off the coast of Venezuela.
- 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.
- Highest point
- Mt. Christoffel 372 m.
- Lowest point
- Caribbean Sea 0 m.
- Coastline
- 364 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 0 km.
- Natural resources
- Calcium phosphates, protected harbors, hot springs.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 0% (2022 est.); arable land: 10% (2018); forest: 0.2% (2022 est.); other: 99.8% (2022 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Curacao is south of the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened.
- Geographic note
- Curaçao is a part of the Windward Islands (southern) group in the Lesser Antilles.
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Ethnic groups
- Curacaoan 75.4%, Dutch 6%, Dominican 3.6%, Colombian 3%, Bonairean, Sint Eustatian, Saban 1.5%, Haitian 1.2%, Surinamese 1.2%, Venezuelan 1.1%, Aruban 1.1%, other 5%, unspecified 0.9% (2011 est.)
- Economy
- High-income island economy; developed infrastructure; tourism and financial services-based economy; investing in information technology incentives; oil refineries service Venezuela and China.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Curacao in Numbers
- Population
- 156,263
- GDP
- US$3.6 billion
- GDP per person
- US$22,833
- Life expectancy
- 77.0 years
- Population growth
- 0.19% a year
- Population density
- 351 per km²
- Urban population
- 91.5%
- Surface area
- 444 km²
- Forest cover
- 0.2%
- Access to electricity
- 100.0%
- Internet users
- 68.1%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Curacao in Depth
History
The original inhabitants of Curaçao were the Arawak and Caquetio Amerindians. Their ancestors had migrated to the island from the mainland of Venezuela, South America, around 3700 BCE to 1500 BCE, probably hundreds of years before Europeans' first arrival.
The first Europeans recorded as seeing the island were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso de Ojeda in 1499.
Established in 1499 as a Spanish launchpad for exploring northern South America, Curaçao was officially settled by Spain in 1527. It functioned as an island extension of Venezuela throughout the 1500s. As mainland colonization advanced, Spain slowly withdrew from the island. The city registry of Caracas, Venezuela, holds one of the earliest written mentions of Curaçao.
Geography
Curaçao lies on the continental shelf of South America and features a hilly topography with its highest point, named Christoffelberg, reaching 372 m (1,220 ft) above sea level. Curaçao has a diverse range of beaches from its coastline's bays, inlets, lagoons, seasonal lakes, rough seas at its northshore, and spring water. In addition, Curaçao has upwelling, which is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler and nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean moving towards the ocean surface. This is a source of natural minerals, thermal conditions, and seawater used in hydrotherapy and mesotherapy, making the island one of many balneoclimateric areas in the region.
Economy
Curaçao has an open economy; its most important sectors are tourism, international trade, shipping services, oil refining, oil storage and bunkering, and international financial services. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's lease on the island's oil refinery expired in 2019; the facility employs 1,000 people, refining oil from Venezuela for export to the United States and Asia. Schlumberger, the world's largest oil field services company, is incorporated in Curaçao. The Isla oil refinery is said to be responsible for Curaçao's position as one of the world's top five highest per capita CO2 emission-producing countries.
Along with Sint Maarten, Curaçao uses the Caribbean guilder. On 1 July 2025 it formally discontinued the previous currency, the Netherlands Antillean guilder.
Demographics
Owing to the island's colonial past, the majority of Curaçao's population is of full or partial African descent. There are also minorities of Dutch, Portuguese, Jewish, Latin American, South Asian, East Asian and Lebanese descent. According to 2022 data from the CIA, Curacao has a total of only 92 men for every 100 women.
The Diocese of Willemstad encompasses all the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean which includes Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Curaçao (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Curacao: Key Facts
| Currency | Caribbean guilder |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Dutch, Papiamento, English |
| Head of state | William Alexander of the Netherlands |
| Head of government | Gilmar Pisas |
| Form of government | parliamentary democracy |
| Calling code | +5999 |
| Internet domain | .cw |
| Established | 1954 |
Facts from Wikidata Q25279 (CC0).
History of Curacao: Empires and States
The atlas records 5 polities whose mapped territory included part of Curacao, from The Spanish Empire in 1529 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| The Spanish Empire | 1529–1635 CE | Nearly all |
| New Netherland | 1636–1799 CE | Nearly all |
| British Colonial Empire | 1799–1814 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1799–1814 CE | Nearly all |
| Netherlands Antilles | 1815–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Curacao
Curacao on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Curacao
Curaçao (Papiamentu: Kòrsou) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, among the group known as the ABC Islands alongside Aruba and Bonaire. This trio is located near Venezuela, and is considered to be outside the Caribbean's so-called "hurricane zone"; vacations to the island are rarely disrupted by tropical storms.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Curaçao (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Curacao
1 city recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willemstad | 146,813 | — | Admin-0 region capital |
Ports in Curacao
3 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caracasbaai | 27.4 m | Small | Caribbean Sea | large vessels |
| 2 | Goto Oil Terminal | 5.5 m | Very Small | Caribbean Sea | large vessels |
| 3 | Sint Michelsbaai | — | Very Small | Caribbean Sea | large vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Curacao
1 World Heritage Site recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao | 1997 | Cultural | (ii) (iv) (v) |
Largest Islands of Curacao
1 island recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.
| # | Name | Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Indies | 1.73M km² | Island group |
West Indies
Island group · 1.73M km²
West Indies is an island group in North America (West Indies), covering an estimated 1.73M km². It extends across Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is the 7th-largest of the 445 islands with a mapped extent in YearMaps.
The West Indies are an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies in three archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago.
The subregion includes all the islands in the Antilles, in addition to The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the North Atlantic Ocean. The term is often interchangeable with "Caribbean", although the latter may also include coastal regions of Central and South American mainland nations.
Adapted from Wikipedia: West Indies (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Feature class
- Island group
- Mapped extent
- 1.73M km²
- Size rank
- #7 of 445 islands
- Region
- North America
- Subregion
- West Indies
- Countries
- Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Coordinates
- 12.3123°, -60.8486°
- Ranges:
- Wilhelmina Gebergte (South America), Tumuc-Humac Mountains (South America)
- Settlements:
- Willemstad (4 km)
More about West Indies
History
Many cultures were Indigenous to these islands, with evidence dating some of them back to the mid-6th millennium BCE. In the late 16th century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America, including the mouth of the Orinoco, and the Atlantic Coast of Central America.
Geology
The West Indies are a geologically complex island system consisting of 7,000 islands and islets stretching over 3,000 km (2,000 miles) from the Florida peninsula south-southeast to the northern coast of Venezuela. These islands include active volcanoes, low-lying atolls, raised limestone islands, and large fragments of continental crust containing tall mountains and insular rivers. Each of the three archipelagos has a unique origin and geologic composition.
The Greater Antilles is geologically the oldest of the three archipelagos and includes both the largest islands (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico) and the tallest mountains (Pico Duarte, Blue Mountain Peak, Pic la Selle, Pico Turquino) in the Caribbean.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: West Indies (CC BY-SA 4.0).
West Indies: Key Facts
| Area | 244,890 km² |
|---|---|
| Surrounded by | Atlantic Ocean |
Facts from Wikidata Q669037 (CC0).
More Maps in North America
Curacao: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Curacao?
- The capital of Curacao is Willemstad.
- What is the population of Curacao?
- Curacao has a population of about 156,263, the #191 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Curacao?
- Curacao covers 444 km², ranking #202 by area, with about 352 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Curacao in?
- Curacao is in North America.
- What is the largest city in Curacao?
- Willemstad is the largest city in Curacao, with a metropolitan population of about 146,813.