1. Before the pandemic, the monetary union of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Union) faced significant challenges. In both countries, the real GDP in 2019 was lower than in 2010 (Figure 1).1 The Union’s external current account deficit averaged nearly 16 percent of GDP in 2017–19 exerting pressure on the international reserves. Both countries faced small-island constraints, structural impediments to growth, and rising government debt, although it was lower than their peers due to a 2010 debt operation followed by a system of fiscal supervision.
2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release and Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Kingdom of the Netherlands-Curacao and Sint Maarten
2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release and Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Kingdom of the Netherlands-Curacao and Sint Maarten