Background:

Location:

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:

12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

Area - 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

highest point:  Mount Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources:

NEGL; white sandy beaches

Land use:

Irrigated land:

0.01 sq km

Natural hazards:

lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Environment - current issues:

NA

Environment - international agreements:

Population:

70,007 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years:  21.29% (male 7,709; female 7,193)

15-64 years:  68.52% (male 23,111; female 24,859)

65 years and over:  10.19% (male 2,954; female 4,181) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.64% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:

12.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:

6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:

NEGL

Sex ratio:

at birth:  1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:  1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years:  0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:  0.71 male(s)/female

total population:  0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

6.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population:  78.52 years

male:  75.16 years

female:  82.04 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun:  Aruban(s)

adjective:  Aruban; Dutch

Ethnic groups:

mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%

Religions:

Languages:

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

Literacy:

Country name:

conventional long form:  none

conventional short form:  Aruba

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital:

Oranjestad

Administrative divisions:

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:

Legislative branch:

Political parties and leaders:

Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission:  Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON

embassy:  J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao

mailing address:  P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao

telephone:  [599] (9) 461-3066

FAX:  [599] (9) 461-6489] (2) 2757-7162

Flag description:

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.

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  NA%

industry:  NA%

services:  NA%

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  NA%

highest 10%:  NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.2% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

41,501 (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining

Unemployment rate:

0.6% (1999 est.)

Budget:

revenues:  $NA

expenditures:  $541 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries:

tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

450 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption:

418.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:

aloes; livestock; fish

Exports:

$2.2 billion (including oil reexports) (2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:

live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment

Exports - partners:

US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (1999)

Imports:

$2.5 billion (2000 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs

Imports - partners:

US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999)

Debt - external:

$285 million (1996)

Currency:

Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)

Currency code:

AWG

Exchange rates:

Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986)

Fiscal year:

Telephones - main lines in use:

33,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

3,402 (1997)

Telephone system:

general assessment:  NA

domestic:  more than adequate

international:  1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:

50,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (1997)

Televisions:

20,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.aw

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

NA

Internet users:

Railways:

0 km

Highways:

total:  800 km

paved:  513 km

unpaved:  287 km

note:  most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995)

Ports and harbors:

Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Merchant marine:

Airports:

1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

2,438 to 3,047 m:  1 (2000 est.)

Military branches:

Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard

Military - 
note:

defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Transnational Issues

Top of Page

Disputes - international:

none

Illicit drugs: