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: NEGL; 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: 68,675 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 0.55% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

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 7,724; female 7,106)
15-64 years: 69% (male 22,723; female 24,747)
65 years and over: 9% (male 2,623; female 3,752) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.55% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 13.28 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 6.48 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.31 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA
International agreements party to: NA
International agreements signed but not ratified: NA

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.84 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.04 years
Male: 73.33 years
Female: 80.94 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Literacy: NA

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

Government type: parliamentary

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 monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for a four-year term; election last held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001)
Election results: inconclusive; no party won majority in December 1997 parliamentary elections; no new government formed as of May 1998

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA December 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2

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

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), 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 chief of mission: Consul General James L. WILLIAMS
From the us embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
From the us telephone: [599] (9) 461-3,066
From the us FAX: [599] (9) 461-6,489

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: 6% (1997)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $22,000 (1997 est.)

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

Agriculture products: aloes; livestock; fish

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: 0.6% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $345.3 million
Expenditures: $378.5 million, including capital expenditures of $107 million (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $1.73 billion (including oil reexports)(1997)
Commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
Partners: US 64%, EU

Imports: $2.12 billion (1997)
Commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products, crude oil for refining and reexport
Partners: US 55.5%, Netherlands 12.3%, Japan 3.5%

Debt external: $285 million (1996)

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

Electricity
Production: 470 million kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 470 million kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)

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 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Railways: 0 km

Merchant marine: total:1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,366 GRT/1,595 DWT (1998 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