Background: Formerly one of the Netherlands Antilles Aruba became an autonomous part of the Netherlands in 1986.

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 193 km²
Land: 193 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: Mount Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches

Land use
Arable land: 11%
Permanent crops: NA%
Permanent pastures: NA%
Forests and woodland: NA%
Other: 89% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Population: 68,031 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 0.39% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Aruban(s)
Adjective: Aruban

Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish

Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish

Age structure
0-14 years: 22% (male 7,814; female 7,127)
15-64 years: 69% (male 22,544; female 24,656)
65 years and over: 9% (male 2,433; female 3,457) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.39% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 14.2 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 6.32 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.97 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.1 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.8 years
Male: 73.11 years
Female: 80.68 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Literacy: NA

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

Government type: NA

Capital: Oranjestad

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

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; in 1990, Aruba requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)

National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March

Constitution: 1 January 1986

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten
Elections: the queen is a constitutional monarch; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the queen; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for a four-year term; election last held 29 July 1994 (next to be held by July 1998)
Election results: Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA; Glenbert F. CROES elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 29 July 1994 (next to be held by NA July 1998)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

International organization participation: ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
From the us: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

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

Economy overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $21,000 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: NA%

Agriculture products: aloes; livestock; fishing

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: NA
By occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1996)

Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1994)

Budget
Revenues: $145 million
Expenditures: $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1995)
Commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
Partners: US 64%, EU

Imports
Total value: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
Commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products, crude oil for refining and reexport
Partners: US 8%, EU

Debt external: $669 million (December 1995)

Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986)

Electricity
Capacity: NA kW
Production: NA kWh
Consumption per capita: NA kWh

Telephones: 22,922 (1993 est.)

Telephone system
Domestic: more than adequate
International: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links

Airports: 2 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1

Railways: 0 km

Merchant marine
Total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,274 GRT/ 10,130 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3 (1996 est.)

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: drug money-laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; added to the US list of major drug producing or drug transit countries in December 1996