Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces

ARUBA

 (part of the Dutch realm) 

@Aruba:Geography

 Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela

 Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
ARUBA - MAJOR CITIES 
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                                        Latitude,      Internat'l     Time   
                        Population      Longitude      Phone Code     Zone   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
ORANJESTAD                  20,000    12.33N, 70.06W     297-8       GMT-4   
Sint Nicolaas               17,000    12.27N, 69.52W     297-8       GMT-4   
Santa Cruz                     N/A    12.31N, 69.59W     297-8       GMT-4   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Area:
 total area: 193 sq km
 land area: 193 sq km
 comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC

 Land boundaries: 0 km

 Coastline: 68.5 km

 Maritime claims:
 territorial sea: 12 nm

 International disputes: none

 Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

 Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

 Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches

 Land use:
 arable land: 0%
 permanent crops: 0%
 meadows and pastures: 0%
 forest and woodland: 0%
 other: 100%

 Irrigated land: NA sq km

 Environment:
 current issues: NA
 natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
 international agreements: NA

@Aruba:People

 Population: 65,974 (July 1995 est.)

 Age structure:
 0-14 years: 23% (female 7,377; male 7,726)
 15-64 years: 69% (female 24,269; male 21,141)
 65 years and over: 8% (female 3,223; male 2,238) (July 1995 est.)

 Population growth rate: 0.65% (1995 est.)

 Birth rate: 14.6 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Net migration rate: -1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Infant mortality rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

 Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 76.56 years
 male: 72.89 years
 female: 80.42 years (1995 est.)

 Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)

 Nationality:
 noun: Aruban(s)
 adjective: Aruban

 Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%

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

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

 Literacy: NA%

 Labor force: NA
 by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1995)

@Aruba:Government

 Names:
 conventional long form: none
 conventional short form: Aruba

 Digraph: AA

 Type: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs
 obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles

 Capital: Oranjestad

 Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the
 Netherlands)

 Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm; 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 (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)
 cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed with the advice and approval
 of the legislature

 Legislative branch: unicameral
 Legislature (Staten): elections last held 29 July 1994 (next to be
 held by NA July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
 (21 total) AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2

 Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

 Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson
 ODUBER; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Jan (Henny) H. EMAN; National
 Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY; New Patriotic Party
 (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny NISBET;
 Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI; Democratic Action '86
 (AD '86), Arturo ODUBER; Organization for Aruban Liberty (OLA),
 Glenbert CROES
 note: governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN

 Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL,
 WTO (associate)

 Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the
 Netherlands)

 US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the
 Netherlands)

 Flag: 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. Additionally,
 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.

 National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (1993
 est.)

 National product real growth rate: 5% (1993 est.)

 National product per capita: $17,000 (1993 est.)

 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1994 est.)

 Unemployment rate: 0.6% (1992)

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

 Exports: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
 commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
 partners: US 64%, EC

 Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
 commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products,
 crude oil for refining and re-export
 partners: US 8%, EC

 External debt: $81 million (1987)

 Industrial production: growth rate NA%

 Electricity:
 capacity: 90,000 kW
 production: 330 million kWh
 consumption per capita: 4,761 kWh (1993)

 Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

 Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural
 activity to the cultivation of aloes, some livestock, and fishing

 Illicit drugs: drug money laundering center and transit point for
 narcotics bound for the US and Europe

 Economic aid:
 recipient: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral
 commitments (1980-89), $220 million

 Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents

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

 Fiscal year: calendar year

@Aruba:Transportation

 Railroads: 0 km

 Highways:
 total: NA
 paved: NA
 unpaved: NA

 Ports: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

 Merchant marine: none

 Airports:
 total: 2
 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
 note: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad accepts
 transatlantic flights

@Aruba:Communications

 Telephone system: 72,168 telephones; 1,100 telephones/1,000 persons;
 more than adequate
 local: NA
 intercity: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
 international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten

 Radio:
 broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0
 radios: NA

 Television:
 broadcast stations: 1
 televisions: NA

@Aruba:Defense Forces

 Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands


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