Facts and Figures

Full name: Curaçao (pronounced [kura'são] (koo-rah-sow)

Curaçao is one of Netherlands Antilles

The Netherland Antilles have no major administrative divisions, although each island has its own local government.
The two island groups of which the Netherlands Antilles consists are:
The "Leeward Islands" (Benedenwindse Eilanden) off the Venezuelan coast (with also Aruba nearby):
Bonaire, including an islet called Klein Bonaire ("Little Bonaire")
Curaçao, including an islet called Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao")
The "Windward Islands" (Bovenwindse Eilanden) east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; geographically however, these are part of what are internationally called the Leeward Islands
Saba
Sint Eustatius
Sint Maarten, the southern half of the island Saint Martin (the northern half, Saint-Martin, is French and part of the overseas department of Guadeloupe).

Flag:

Area 
        total: 960 km² (All islands)

Population: 212,226 (All islands)

Capital: Willemstad 

Official Language 

The languages widely spoken on Curaçao are Papiamento, Castilian (Spanish), English and Dutch. Of these languages, Papiamento is the native language of most inhabitants, with Dutch being the official state language taught in schools. Papiamento is a creole language that has developed through centuries of contact between the diverse peoples living on Curaçao. The Papiamento for Curaçao is Korsou.

Political Status: Dependent area of the Netherlands

Future status

In 2004 a commission of the governments of the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands reported on a future status for the Netherlands Antilles. The commission advised to revise the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles. Two new countries inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become directly part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands.

Political System: self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Politics

Head of state is the ruling monarch of the Netherlands, who is represented in the Netherlands Antilles by a governor. The governor is also head of the local government, and forms, together with the council of ministers, the executive branch of the government.
The legislative branch is two-layered. Delegates of the islands are represented in the government of the Netherlands Antilles, but each island has its own government that takes care of the daily tasks on the island.

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