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CURACAO - NETHERLANDS ANTILLESOnce the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France. WHEN TO GO The peak season is from mid-December to mid-April when rates are high. Prices drop by up to 50 percent during the off-season. FACTS ABOUT CURACAO - Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands
- Geographical coordinates: 12 15 N, 68 45 W
- Area: 444 sq km
- Coastline: 147 km
- Max elevation: 375 m Mount Christoffel
- Population: 138,000
- Capital: Willemstad
- Government: an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
- Currency: Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
- Ethnic groups: mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian)
- Languages: Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8%
- Religions: Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2%
- Internet Country Code: .an
- Calling code: 599
- Major Industries: Tourism, light manufacturing, petroleum refining
- Natural resources: phosphates
- Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
- Average sea surface temp: 27 °C
- Average annual rainfall: 570 mm
- Average tourist arrivals: 260,000
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