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, semi-autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 180 km²
Land: 180 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 218
Comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 68.5 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Elevation
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Highest point: Ceru Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources: NEGL; white sandy beaches foster tourism

Land use
Agricultural land: 11.1% (2016 est.)
Forest: 2.3% (2016 est.)
Other: 86.6% (2016 est.)

Irrigated land
Note: NA

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)

Population
Distribution: most residents live in or around Oranjestad and San Nicolaas; most settlments tend to be located on the less mountainous western side of the island: 116,576 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 189
Growth rate: 1.24% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 88
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: Aruban(s)
Adjective: Aruban; Dutch

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Papiamento (official) (a creole language that is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and, to a lesser extent, French, as well as elements of African languages and the language of the Arawak) 69.4%, Spanish 13.7%, English (widely spoken) 7.1%, Dutch (official) 6.1%, Chinese 1.5%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 75.3%, Protestant 4.9% (includes Methodist 0.9%, Adventist 0.9%, Anglican 0.4%, other Protestant 2.7%), Jehovah's Witness 1.7%, other 12%, none 5.5%, unspecified 0.5% (2010 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.61% (male 10,304 /female 10,227)
15-24 years: 12.53% (male 7,355 /female 7,253)
25-54 years: 41.29% (male 23,187 /female 24,946)
55-64 years: 14.51% (male 7,910 /female 9,005)
65 years and over: 14.06% (male 6,422 /female 9,967) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 44.6 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 27 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 17.5 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 5.7 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 39.5 years (2018 est.)
Male: 37.8 years
Female: 41.2 years
Rank: 53

Population growth rate: 1.24% (2018 est.)
Rank: 88

Birth rate: 12.3 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 158

Death rate: 8.5 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 76

Net migration rate: 8.6 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 10

Population distribution: most residents live in or around Oranjestad and San Nicolaas; most settlments tend to be located on the less mountainous western side of the island

Urbanization
Urban population: 43.5% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 0.67% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 30,000 ORANJESTAD (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: difficulty in properly disposing of waste produced by large numbers of tourists; waste burning that occurs in the landfill causes air pollution and poses an environmental and health risk; ocean environmental damage due to plastic pollution

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 10.4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 13.6 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 7.2 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 131

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.1 years (2018 est.)
Male: 74.1 years
Female: 80.3 years
Rank: 77

Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 147

Drinking water source
Urban: 1.9% of population
Rural: 1.9% of population
Total: 1.9% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases: note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus

Education expenditures: 6.2% of GDP (2016)
Rank: 27

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.5%
Male: 97.5%
Female: 97.5% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2012)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Aruba
Etymology: the origin of the islands name is unclear; according to tradition, the name comes from the Spanish phrase oro huba (there was gold), but in fact no gold was ever found on the island; another possibility is the native word oruba, which means well-situated

Government type: parliamentary democracy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Capital
Name: Oranjestad
Geographic coordinates: 12 31 N, 70 02 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time): etymology: translates as 'orange town' in Dutch; the city is named after William I (1533-1584), Prince of Orange, the first ruler of the Netherlands

Administrative divisions:

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

National holiday: National Anthem and Flag Day, 18 March (1976)

Constitution
History: previous 1947, 1955; latest drafted and approved August 1985, enacted 1 January 1986 (regulates governance of Aruba but is subordinate to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands); in 1986, Aruba became a semi-autonomous entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Legal system: civil law system based on the Dutch civil code

Citizenship: see the Netherlands

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER of the Netherlands (since 30 April 2013); represented by Governor General Alfonso BOEKHOUDT (since 1 January 2017)
Head of government: Prime Minister Evelyn WEVER-CROES (since 17 November 2017)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Legislature (Staten)
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a 6-year term; prime minister and deputy prime minister indirectly elected by the Staten for 4-year term; election last held on 27 September 2013 (next to be held by September 2017)
Election results: Evelyn WEVER-CROES (MEP) elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 22 September 2017 (next to be held in September 2021)
Election results: percent of vote by party AVP 39.8%, MEP 37.6%, POR 9.4%, RED 7.1%, other 6.1%; seats by party - AVP 9, MEP 9, POR 2, RED 1; composition as of October 2018 - men 14, women 7, percent of women 33.3%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or Joint Court of Justice (sits as a 3-judge panel); final appeals heard by the Supreme Court in The Hague, Netherlands
Judge selection and term of office: Joint Court judges appointed for life by the monarch
Subordinate courts:  Court in First Instance

Political parties and leaders: Aruban People's Party or AVP [Michiel 'Mike' EMAN]Democratic Electoral Network or RED [L.R. CROES]People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Evelyn WEVER-CROES]Pueblo Orguyoso y Respeta or POR [O.E. ODUBER]Real Democracy or PDR [Andin BIKKER]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us:
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: Hooiberg (Haystack) Hill; national colors: blue, yellow, red, white

National anthem
Name: Aruba Deshi Tera (Aruba Precious Country)
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)

Economy overview: Tourism, petroleum bunkering, hospitality, and financial and business services are the mainstays of the small open Aruban economy.Tourism accounts for a majority of economic activity; as of 2017, over 2 million tourists visited Aruba annually, with the large majority (80-85%) of those from the US. The rapid growth of the tourism sector has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction continues to boom, especially in the hospitality sector.Aruba is heavily dependent on imports and is making efforts to expand exports to improve its trade balance. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with the US, the Netherlands, and Panama being the major suppliers.In 2016, Citgo Petroleum Corporation, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, and the Government of Aruba signed an agreement to restart Valero Energy Corp.'s former 235,000-b/d refinery. Tourism and related industries have continued to grow, and the Aruban Government is working to attract more diverse industries. Aruba's banking sector continues to be a strong sector; unemployment has significantly decreased.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 180

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 180

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 51

Gross national saving:
Rank: 120

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 60.3% (2014 est.)
Government consumption: 25.3% (2015 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 22.3% (2014 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2015 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 70.5% (2015 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -76.6% (2015 est.)

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

Agriculture products: aloes; livestock; fish

Industries: tourism, petroleum transshipment facilities, banking

Industrial production growth rate
Note: NA

Labor force:
Rank: 191
By occupation note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade, followed by hotels and restaurants

Unemployment rate: 7.7% (2016 est.)
Rank: 113

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Budget
Revenues: 681.6 million (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 755.5 million (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 118

Taxes and other revenues: 25.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 118

Public debt:
Rank: 31

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 6

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 132

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 118

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 194

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 197

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 156

Current account balance:
Rank: 60

Exports:
Rank: 193
Partners: US 20.2%, Colombia 17.6%, Venezuela 13%, Netherlands 9.1%, Thailand 8.4%, Panama 4.8% (2017)
Commodities: live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment

Imports:
Rank: 182
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, refined oil for bunkering and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs
Partners: US 53.7%, Netherlands 13.1% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 134

Debt external:
Rank: 173

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 11,364 (2012)
Access electrification total population: 95.6% (2016)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2016)
Access electrification rural areas: 92.5% (2016)
Production: 939 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 153
Consumption: 873.3 million kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 158
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 100
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 121
Installed generating capacity: 296,000 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 159
Generation sources fossil fuels: 87% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 61
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 39
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 154
Generation sources other renewable sources: 13% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 66

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 107
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 87
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 91
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 104

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 115
Products consumption: 8,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 163
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 127
Products imports: 7,891 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 153

Natural gas
Production: 1 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 96
Consumption: 1 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 116
Exports: 1 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 56
Imports: 1 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 80
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 107

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.266 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 162

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 35,000
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 31 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 167
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 141,000
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 126 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 187

Telephone system
General assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications system; increased competition through privatization has increased mobile-cellular teledensity; three mobile-cellular service providers are now licensed; MNO (mobile network operator) launched island-wide LTE services; MNP (mobile number portability) introduced (2018)
Domestic: ongoing changes in regulations and competition improving teledensity; 31 per 100 fixed-line, 126 per 100 mobile-cellular (2018)
International: country code - 297; landing points for the PAN-AM, PCCS, Deep Blue Cable, and Alonso de Ojeda submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from Trinidad and Tobago, Florida, Puerto Ricco, Jamaica, Guyana, Sint Eustatius & Saba, Suriname, Dominican Republic, BVI, USVI, Haiti, Cayman Islands, the Netherlands Antilles, through Aruba to Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile; extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2019)

Broadcast media: 2 commercial TV stations; cable TV subscription service provides access to foreign channels; about 19 commercial radio stations broadcast (2017)

Internet
Country code: .aw
Users total: 106,309
Users percent of population: 93.5% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 176

Military and security forces: no regular military forces (2011)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 19 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,120,578 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: P4 (2016)

Airports: 1 (2013)
Rank: 212
With paved runways total: 1 (2019)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1

Roadways
Total: 1000 km (2010)
Rank: 179

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Barcadera, Oranjestad
Oil terminal: Sint Nicolaas
Cruise port: Oranjestad

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively high percentage of population consumes cocaine