WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s economy is expected to grow by 2.8 percent in 2026, slightly stronger than previously anticipated, as tourism, private investment and improving net exports continue to support economic activity. Growth is expected to slow to 2.3 percent in 2027 as the strong post-pandemic expansion gradually loses momentum.
The latest projections are contained in the September 2026 Economic Bulletin of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS).
The new 2.8 percent forecast represents an upward revision of 0.1 percentage point compared with the Central Bank’s June forecast.
According to the CBCS, Curaçao started 2026 on a positive footing, with both stay-over tourism and cruise tourism contributing to activity in hotels and restaurants, retail, transportation and other related sectors.
Private investment is another important contributor. The Bank expects continued investment in tourism and real estate projects to support domestic demand during the year.
However, an important change in the latest outlook involves Curaçao’s external sector.
The CBCS now expects net foreign demand to make a stronger contribution to economic growth than it anticipated in June. In real terms, exports are projected to increase faster than imports, improving the contribution of international trade to overall GDP growth.
The figures suggest that Curaçao’s economy has moved beyond the rapid recovery phase that followed the pandemic. Growth remains positive, but the pace is gradually returning to more moderate levels.
That trend becomes more apparent in 2027, when economic growth is projected to decline from 2.8 percent to 2.3 percent.
The slowdown does not necessarily indicate economic contraction or weakness. Rather, the CBCS expects the unusually strong post-pandemic rebound to gradually fade while tourism and investment continue supporting expansion.
Curaçao’s government finances are also expected to remain relatively strong.
The current budget surplus is projected to increase from 3.1 percent of GDP in 2025 to 3.3 percent in 2026. The CBCS expects the surplus to remain at 3.3 percent in 2027.
Public debt relative to the size of the economy is meanwhile expected to fall to 59.7 percent of GDP in 2026. The decrease is partly the result of a higher nominal GDP.
That downward trend is not expected to continue into 2027. The debt ratio is projected to rise to 60.7 percent as the government takes on additional borrowing to finance capital investments.
The overall picture presented by the CBCS is therefore one of continued economic expansion combined with relatively stable public finances, but at a slower pace than Curaçao experienced during the initial recovery years.
Sint Maarten is following a similar trajectory. Its economy is projected to expand by 3.1 percent this year before slowing to 2.5 percent in 2027. The 2026 projection is half a percentage point higher than the CBCS forecast in June.
For Curaçao, the new forecast means tourism and private investment remain powerful drivers of economic activity, but the coming years will increasingly test whether the island can maintain growth after the exceptional rebound of the previous period has run its course.