| Aruba |
Flag:
 |
Map:
 |
| 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. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Oranjestad
geographic coordinates: 12 33 N, 70 06 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 193 sq km |
| Area Land: 193 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC |
| Coastline: 68.5 km |
| Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Caribbean Sea 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mount Jamanota 188 m |
| Natural Resources: NEGL; white sandy beaches |
| Land Use Arable Land: 10.53% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0% |
| Land Use Other: 89.47% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 0.01 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
| Environment Current Issues: NA |
| 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 |
Population: 100,018
note: estimate based on a revision of the base population, fertility, and mortality numbers, as well as a revision of 1985-1999 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration, which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 19.7% (male 9,943/female 9,761) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 70.2% (male 33,553/female 36,661) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 10.1% (male 4,046/female 6,054) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 37.3 years |
| Median Age Male: 35.5 years |
| Median Age Female: 39 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 1.522% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 12.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.02 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.019 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.915 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.668 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.906 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 19.59 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 9.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 74.83 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 71.8 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 77.91 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.85 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, other (includes Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish) 10% |
| 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) |
| Literacy Definition: NA |
| Literacy Total Population: 97% |
| Literacy Male: NA% |
| Literacy Female: NA% |
| Administrative Divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| Legal System: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
| Economy |
| Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. 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. In addition, the country's oil refinery reopened in 1993, providing a major source of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean. The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $2.258 billion (2005 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 2.4% (2005 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 0.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 33.3% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 66.3% (2002 est.) |
| Labor Force: 41,500 (2004 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
| Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (2005 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 3.4% (2005) |
| Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: NA% |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 770 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 100% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 716.1 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 2,363 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 7,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $80 million f.o.b.; note - includes oil reexports (2004 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
| Exports Partners: Netherlands 33.5%, Panama 16.7%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Netherlands Antilles 9% (2005) |
| Imports: $875 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
| Imports Partners: US 55.9%, Netherlands 12.9%, UK 3.8% (2005) |
| Debt External: $478.6 million (2005 est.) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $11.3 million (2004) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 37,100 (2002) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 98,400 (2004) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications system |
| Telephone System Domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless service providers are now licensed |
| Telephone System International: country code - 297; 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 2, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Radios: 50,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (1997) |
| Televisions: 20,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: NA |
| Internet Users: 24,000 (2002) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 1 (2006) |
| Disputes International: none |
| IllicitDrugs: transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively high percentage of population consumes cocaine |