 Curacao Facts

 Name: Curacao

 Capital City: Willemstad (140,000 pop.)

 Curacao Population: 146,836 (2013 est.)

 World Populations (all countries)

 Currency: Netherlands Antillean Guilder

100 Netherlands Antillean Guilders

 Ethnicity: mixed African/European Afro-Caribbean (majority), smaller

percentages of Dutch, Latin American, French, Asian, Portuguese and Levantine

 GDP total: $2.838 billion (2010 est.)

 GDP per capita: $15,000 (2010 est.)

 Language: Papiamentu (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 81.2%,

Dutch (official) 8%, Spanish 4%, English 2.9%, other 3.9%

 Largest Cities: (by population) Willemstad, Sint Michiel Liber, Barber, Dorp
Soto, Newport, Sabana Westpunt, Dorp Sint Willebrordus, Lagún

 Name: There are many disputed theories behind the origin of Curacao's name.
The more popular suggests that it was derived from the Portuguese word for
"heart", the word "coracao", due to its importance and central position for trade.
 National Day: April 30

 Religion: Roman Catholic 80.1%, Protestant 5.5%, none 4.6%, Pentecostal 3.5%,
Seventh Day Adventist 2.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, Jewish 0.8%, other 1.3%,
not reported 0.3%

 Curacao Symbols

 Bird: Majestic Oriole

 Curacao Flag

 The flag of Curacao is blue, with a yellow horizontal stripe slightly below the midline,
and two white stars in the upper left corner.

The blue symbolizes the sea and sky, and the yellow represents the sun. The two
stars are for Curacao and Klein Curacao, but also stand for 'Love and Happiness.'
Their five points symbolize the five continents that the people of Curacao come from.

 Coat of Arms:
 Coat of Arms: Curacao's coat of arms consists of a crown resting atop a shield.
On the left side of the shield a sailboat represents trade, and on the right is a
citrus tree. Amsterdam's coat of arms rests in the middle, and depicts the trading
bond. The crown is the link with the Dutch royal family.

 Flower: Kibrahacha
 Tree: Divi-divi

 Geography:

Curacao (for the most part) is a dry and relatively flat island famous for its coral
reefs and sandy beaches. The highest point is Mount Christoffel at 375 m (1,230
ft).

Caves scattered across the island were first used by the Amerindian Arawaks
about 1,500 years ago.

Dozens of bays and inlets cover the southern coast, and some salt marshes are
found along the edges of coastal limestone formations. There are no permanent
rivers.