Authentic Curaçao Is Slowly Disappearing

Authentic Curaçao Is Slowly Disappearing

July 13, 2026

Today I will address two different topics in two separate blogs. This is the first.

Yesterday I wrote that Curaçao is simultaneously aging and becoming younger. Today, the front page of the Antilliaans Dagblad carries the headline "Young Adult Drain." Elsewhere in the newspaper, several articles also focus on the island's demographic trends, particularly population aging (Antilliaans Dagblad, 2026).

This morning I was having breakfast with my birthday-celebrating better half when Dick Drayer walked in. At that very moment, I was reading his article about the latest population report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) (Drayer, 2026).

Reading the CBS report again, one conclusion becomes unmistakably clear: Curaçao's population is growing solely because of immigration. Immigration increased by 17 percent. Without this inflow, the island's population would have declined by more than 500 people. At the same time, more people die each year than are born, meaning that the natural population balance has turned negative (CBS Curaçao, 2026; Antilliaans Dagblad, 2026).

The report does not specify in detail who the immigrants are. Undoubtedly, some are returning Yu di Kòrsou—people returning to their homeland. At the same time, the CBS confirms that young adults are leaving the island at disproportionately high rates: the so-called young adult drain.

A troubling picture is beginning to emerge. Local young people continue to leave, many never return, while population growth becomes increasingly dependent on newcomers. Curaçao is gradually ceasing to be a place where young people build their future, establish careers, and raise families.

We have already seen the consequences in our education system. Schools have had to merge or close because the number of students continues to decline. That, too, reflects the same demographic reality.

These figures are more than statistics. They hold up a mirror to our society. They force us to ask whether we have provided enough opportunities for our own young people. In my view, the answer is no. While economic policy has increasingly focused on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), far less attention has been given to creating the conditions that encourage young Curaçaoans to build their future at home.

Perhaps that is the most painful conclusion of the CBS report. Authentic Curaçao is not disappearing overnight.

It is slowly fading away.

Miguel Goede

References

Antilliaans Dagblad. (2026, July 12). CBS: "Young Adult Drain".

Central Bureau of Statistics Curaçao. (2026). Population of Curaçao January 1st, 2026: An overview of demographic developments. https://www.cbs.cw/population

Drayer, D. (2026, July 13). Curaçao grows only through immigration; inflow rises by 17 percent. Curaçao.nu.