Map of Aruba | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499 Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.


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Location: Caribbean island in the Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N 69 58 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 180 km²
Rank: 217
Land: 180 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 68.5 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Ceru Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources: NEGL; white sandy beaches

Land use
Arable land: 10.53%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 89.47% (2005)

Irrigated land: 0.01 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes; lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened

Geography
Note: a flat riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)


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Population: 104,589
Rank: 192
Note: estimate based on a revision of the base population fertility and mortality numbers as well as a revision of 1985-99 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2010 est.)
Growth rate: 1.457% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 86
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Aruban
Adjective: Aruban; Dutch

Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% other 20%

Languages: Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3% Spanish 12.6% English (widely spoken) 7.7% Dutch (official) 5.8% other 2.2% unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 80.8% Evangelist 4.1% Protestant 2.5% Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5% Methodist 1.2% Jewish 0.2% other 5.1% none or unspecified 4.6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.1%
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 34,676/female 37,752)
65 years and over: 10.6% (male 4,351/female 6,607) (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 38 years
Male: 36.2 years
Female: 39.7 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.457% (2010 est.)
Rank: 86

Birth rate: 12.77 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 157

Death rate: 7.76 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 113

Net migration rate: 9.56 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 9

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 47% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.021 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.34 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 131
Male: 17.65 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 8.94 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.51 years
Rank: 82
Male: 72.47 years
Female: 78.61 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.85 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 151

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.9% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 74

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: 97.3%
Male: 97.5%
Female: 97.1% (2000 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2008)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Aruba

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital
Name: Oranjestad
Geographic coordinates: 12 31 N 70 02 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday: Flag Day 18 March (1976)

Constitution: 1 January 1986

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands ; represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May 2004)
Head of government: Prime Minister Michiel Godfried (Mike) EMAN (since 30 October 2009)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten
Elections: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held in 2009 (next to be held by 2013)
Election results: Mike EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held on 25 September 2009 (next to be held in 2013)
Election results: percent of vote by party - AVP 48% MEP 35.9% PDR 5.7%; seats by party - AVP 12 MEP 8 PDR 1

Judicial branch: Common Court of Justice Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders: Aliansa/Aruban Social Movement or MSA [Robert WEVER]; Aruban Liberal Organization or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Movement or MPA [Monica ARENDS-KOCK]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Mike EMAN]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; Real Democracy or PDR [Andin BIKKER]; RED [Rudy LAMPE]; Workers Political Platform or PTT [Gregorio WOLFF]

International organization participation: Caricom (observer) FATF ILO IMF Interpol IOC ITUC UNESCO (associate) UNWTO (associate) UPU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Henry BAARH Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Aruba; the Consul General to Curacao is accredited to Aruba

Flag description: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner; the star represents Aruba and its red soil and white beaches its four points the four major languages (Papiamento Dutch Spanish English) as well as the four points of a compass to indicate that its inhabitants come from all over the world; the blue symbolizes Caribbean waters and skies; the stripes represent the island's two main 'industries': the flow of tourists to the sun-drenched beaches and the flow of minerals from the earth

National symbols

National anthem
Name: 'Aruba Deshi Tera'
Lyricsmusic: Juan Chabaya 'Padu' LAMPE/Rufo Inocencio WEVER
Note: local anthem adopted 1986; as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 'Het Wilhelmus' is official (see Netherlands)

National heritage


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Economy overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the small open Aruban economy together with offshore banking. Oil refining and storage ended in 2009. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba with 75% of those from the US. Construction continues to boom with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. Tourist arrivals rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $2.205 billion (2004 est.)
Rank: 181

Real gdp growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)
Rank: 141

Real gdp per capita: $21,800 (2004 est.)
Rank: 59

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.4%
Industry: 33.3%
Services: 66.3% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products: aloes; livestock; fish

Industries: tourism transshipment facilities

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 41,500 (2004 est.)
Rank: 194
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%
By occupation note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining

Unemployment rate: 6.9% (2005 est.)
Rank: 67

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 46.3% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 57

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.4% (2005)
Rank: 100

Central bank discount rate: 5% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 85

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 11.23% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 80

Stock of narrow money: $781 million (31 December 2008)
Rank: 140

Stock of broad money: $1.671 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 146

Stock of domestic credit: $1.321 billion (31 December 2008)
Rank: 140

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $124 million (2006); note - includes oil reexports
Rank: 188
Commodities: live animals and animal products art and collectibles machinery and electrical equipment transport equipment
Partners: Panama 23.84% Netherlands Antilles 20.49% Colombia 17.48% Venezuela 12.61% US 9.12% Netherlands 7.5% (2009)

Imports: $1.054 billion (2006)
Rank: 169
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment crude oil for refining and reexport chemicals; foodstuffs
Partners: US 49.51% Netherlands 16.15% UK 4.94% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $478.6 million (2005 est.)
Rank: 164

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Aruban guilders/florins (AWG) per US dollar - NA (2007) 1.79 (2006) 1.79 (2005) 1.79 (2004) 1.79 (2003)


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Electricity
Production: 850 million kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 147
Consumption: 790.5 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 148
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 206
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 208
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 202
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 202
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 204

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 38,300 (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 169
Mobile cellular: 128,000 (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 180

Telephone system
General assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications system
Domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 mobile-cellular service providers are now licensed
International: country code - 297; landing site for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from the US Virgin Islands through Aruba to Venezuela Colombia Panama and the west coast of South America; extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2007)

Broadcast media: 2 commercial television stations; cable TV subscription service provides access to foreign channels; about 20 commercial radio stations broadcast (2007)

Internet
Country code: .aw
Hosts: 25,080 (2010)
Hosts rank: 101
Users: 24,000 (2009)
Users rank: 187

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1 (2010)
Rank: 210
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals: Barcadera Oranjestad Sint Nicolaas


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively h