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| Country
Fact Sheet |
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Location
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The largest and most populous of the five
Leeward Antilles islands; Curacao and Bonaire
are located off the north coast of Venezuela,
and St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius
lie east of the US Virgin Islands
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Capital
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Willemstad
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Surface
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444 sq km
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Population
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150,000 people
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Currency
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The Netherlands Antilles Guilder or Florin
(ANG or NAFl). 1 ANG = 0.56 USD = 0.31 GBP.
US currency is accepted
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GDP
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Purchasing
power parity - $1.6 billion
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GDP/capita
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Purchasing
power parity - $11,500
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Language
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Papiamento (mixture of African, Spanish,
Dutch and English), Dutch is the official
language, English and Spanish are spoken
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Religion
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Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Jewish
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Government
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Curacao
is an autonomous state within the kingdom
of the Netherlands. Governor: Frits Goedgedrag
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Time
Zone
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GMT -4 hours
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Telecom
Code
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+599
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Airport
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Curacao Airport (CUR)
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Driving
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On right hand side of the road, license
required
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Electrical
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110~130 volts, 50 Hz
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Political
climate
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Stable country
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| Local
Business & Service Providers |
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Financial
services
Legal and fiduciary
Financial
Technology
Business travel
Image identity Consultancy
Corporate incentives
Automotive services
Accommodations
Lifestyle |
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| History |
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The Arawaks
are recognized as the first human civilization
to inhabit the Netherlands Antilles. A Spanish
expedition led by Alonso de Ojeda discovered the
island of Curaçao for Spain in 1499, and
it remained under the Spanish until the Dutch
took control in 1634. Curaçao was a strategically
important point for Dutch military advances against
the Spanish and as the center of the Caribbean
slave trade. Curaçao became the host of
the Netherlands Antilles Government in 1954.
Island rivalries
are at least as important as ideological ones
in Netherlands Antilles politics. The most recent
election in January 2002 returned no party with
more than five seats (out of 22) in the Staten.
The present Government is a six-party coalition
led by the FOL under the premiership of Mirna
Louisa-Godett. Of the main parties, only the PAR,
still led by the veteran politician and former
Premier Miguel Fournier, is excluded. In the referendum
held in April 2005 on Curaçao, the citizens
of the island expressed themselves in favor of
an autonomous status for Curaçao in the
Dutch Kingdom. The Island Council of the Island
Territory of Curaçao formally ratified
the results of the referendum a week later. Efforts
will be made to realise the status of an autonomous
state for Curaçao by July 2007.
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