Where exactly is Curaçao located in the world?

WILLEMSTAD-(MaraviPost)-Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao,[b] is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 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”).

GDP (nominal)
2024 estimate

• Total
  $3.5 billion
• Per capita: $22,761
  HDI (2012)
  0.811: very high
  Currency: Caribbean guilder
  Time zone: UTC−4:00 (AST)
  Driving side: Right
  Calling code: +599 9
  ISO 3166 code: CWNL-CWCUW
  Internet TLD: .cw

The 2023 census recorded a population of 155,826 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[better source needed 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 the world over for its indigenous bitter orange-based liqueur, Curaçao, flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha, a citrus fruit grown there.

Curaçao was originally inhabited by the Arawak and Caquetio Amerindians.

The first Europeans to explore the island were the Spanish, who first reached it in 1499 and deported the entire indigenous population as slaves to the island of Hispaniola in 1515.

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.

Jews, fleeing persecution in Europe, settled here and significantly influenced the economy and culture.

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 Papiamentu, English, and Spanish are widely spoken, reflecting the island’s diverse cultural influences.

Curaçao was formerly part of the Curaçao and Dependencies colony from 1815 to 1954, and later the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 2010, as Island Territory of Curaçao.

The discovery of oil in the Maracaibo Basin in 1914 transformed Curaçao into a major refinery location,[18] altering its economic landscape.

There were efforts towards becoming a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the island achieved autonomy in 2010.

Source: Wikipedia

Lloyd M’bwana

I’m a Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (LUANAR)’s Environmental Science graduate (Malawi) and UK’s ICM Journalism and Media studies scholar. Also University of Malawi (UNIMA) Library Science Scholar. I have been The Malawi Country Manager and duty editor for the Maravi Post since 2019. My duty editor’s job is to ensure that the news is covered properly, that it is delivered on time, and that it is created to the standards set out in the editorial guidelines of the Maravi Post.