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The economy of Curaçao is a
high income economy A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" a ...
, as defined by the World Bank. The island has a well-developed infrastructure with strong
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and
financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
sectors. Shipping, international trade, oil refining, and other activities related to the port of Willemstad (like the Free Trade Zone) also make a significant contribution to the economy.
Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean, ranking 46th in the world in terms of
GDP (PPP) per capita Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
and 28th in the world in terms of
nominal GDP per capita The figures presented here do not take into account differences in the cost of living in different countries, and the results vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's currency. Such flu ...
. To achieve the government's aim to make its economy more diverse, efforts are being made to attract more foreign investment. This policy, called the 'Open Arms' policy, features a heavy focus on information technology companies.


History

Early in its history, Curaçao's economy was centered on
salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...
from saline-rich ponds located in the eastern part of the island. Up until that time, dating back to the 16th century, settlers (first Spanish and later Dutch) made numerous, failed attempts at creating an agricultural industry. Curaçao's arid climate, which features few freshwater sources, made it difficult and unprofitable. Although the island's geography was at first considered an obstacle economically, it later proved to be invaluable due to its ideal location for trade and commerce. Shipping and trading operations centered on the port of Willemstad played an important role in the development of the economy. In the early 20th century, discovery of oil in Venezuela caused major oil companies to invest in the region. Beginning in 1920, oil refining has become a key part of the island's economy, representing nearly 90% of its exports. During WWII, Curaçao was a safe-haven for Dutch multi-national companies, beginning the island's history as a financial services center. Tourism is also becoming an increasingly important sector of the economy. The construction of the Mega Pier has recently allowed larger cruise ships to dock at Curaçao, increasing its position as a tourism destination.


Tourism

Curaçao is a popular tourism location for the Eastern United States, South America, the Netherlands and Germany. It leads the Caribbean in cruise tourism growth with 610,186 cruise passengers in 2013, a 41.4% increase over the prior year.
Hato International Airport Hato or HATO may refer to: Places * Hato International Airport, Willemstad, Curaçao * Hato, Curaçao, a village and former plantation in Curaçao * Hato, Santander, a town in Santander Department, Colombia * Hato, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, a barr ...
received 1,772,501 passengers in 2013 and recently announced $48 million in capital investments aimed at transforming the airport into a regional hub by 2018. Beginning in early 2014, the
Lynx rocketplane The XCOR Lynx was a proposed suborbital horizontal-takeoff, horizontal-landing (HTHL), rocket-powered spaceplane that was under development by the California-based company XCOR Aerospace to compete in the emerging suborbital spaceflight marke ...
is expected to be flying suborbital
space tourism Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. During the period from 2001 to 2009, seven space tourists made eight s ...
flights and scientific research missions from a new spaceport on Curaçao. The island lies outside of the Hurricane belt and has a well-developed tourism infrastructure. Curaçao's coast has a sharp drop-off known as the "Blue Edge" which makes it a popular
scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
destination. Coral reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving can be reached without a boat. The southern coast has calm waters as well as many small beaches, such as Jan Thiel and Cas Abou. The coastline of Curaçao features numerous bays and inlets which serve as popular mooring locations for boats. Some of the coral reefs are affected by tourism. Porto Marie Beach is experimenting with artificial coral reefs in order to improve the reef's condition. Hundreds of artificial coral blocks that have been placed are now home to a large array of tropical fish.


Oil refining

The discovery of oil in the Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela in the early 20th century forced the Venezuelan government to search for ideal locations for large scale refining. Curaçao's proximity to the country, naturally deep harbors, and stable government led
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
to construct the , the largest refinery in the world at the time. The refinery is located in the Schottegat, the natural harbour beyond Willemstad and began operating in 1918. Presently Venezuela's state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) operates the Isla refinery, which has a 320,000 barrel per day capacity . In 2017, negotiations were underway with a Chinese company, (GZE). In July, the discussions were suspended but Prime Minister Rhuggenaath announced that he would travel to China later in the year to reopen negotiations.


Financial services

Curaçao's history in financial services dates from World War I with the conversion of the financial arms of local merchant houses into commercial banks. As the economy grew, these banks began assuming additional functions eventually becoming full-fledged financial institutions. The Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange is located in the capital of Willemstad, as is the
Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten ( nl, Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten, previously the ''Bank of the Netherlands Antilles'') is the central bank for the Netherlands Antillean guilder and administers the monetary policy of ...
; the latter of which dates to 1828 making it the oldest central bank in the Western Hemisphere. The island's legal system supports a wide variety of corporate structures and is a popular corporate haven. Curaçao is considered a tax haven yet it adheres to the EU Code of Conduct against harmful tax practices. It holds a qualified intermediary status from the United States I.R.S. and is an accepted jurisdiction of the OECD and Caribbean Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering. The country strongly enforces Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism funding compliance.


See also

* Curaçao Economy *
Economy of the Caribbean The 'Economy of the Caribbean' is varied, but depends heavily on natural resources, agriculture and travel and tourism. Main trading partners Natural resources By international standards, minerals most valuable on the international market are fo ...
*
Caribbean guilder The Caribbean guilder ( nl, Caribische gulden) is a proposed new currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Caribbean islands which became "landen" (constituent countries) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, following the dissolution of the N ...
*
Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten ( nl, Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten, previously the ''Bank of the Netherlands Antilles'') is the central bank for the Netherlands Antillean guilder and administers the monetary policy of ...
*
Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean This is a list of the central banks and currencies of the Caribbean. There are a number of currencies serving multiple territories; the most widespread are the East Caribbean dollar (8 countries and territories), the United States dollar (5) and th ...
*
Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange The Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX) is a self-regulatory international Exchange for the listing and trading in domestic and international securities. It is a platform where companies can register for funding and investors can choose com ...
*
List of countries by credit rating This is a list of countries by credit rating, showing long-term foreign currency credit ratings for sovereign bonds as reported by the largest three major credit rating agencies: Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's. The list also includes all ...
* List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (nominal) *
List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP) This is a list of Latin American and the Caribbean countries by gross domestic product at purchasing power parity in international dollars according to the International Monetary Fund's estimates in the April 2022 World Economic Outlook database. ...
* List of countries by tax revenue as percentage of GDP *
List of countries by future gross government debt This is a list of countries by estimated future gross central government debt based on data released in October 2020 by the International Monetary Fund, with figures in percentage of national GDP. Projected debt estimates See also * List of ...
*
List of countries by leading trade partners For most economies in the world, their leading export and import trading partner in terms of value is either the European Union or China, and to a certain degree, the United States and Russia. Other countries like Brazil, India, South Africa, Sou ...


References

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