The 1996 CIA World Factbook page on Aruba

From: The CIA'sTHE WORLD FACTBOOK 1996

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Aruba

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(part of the Dutch realm)

Map

Location: 12 30 N, 69 58 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela

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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

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Geography

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:
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
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
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

People

Population: 67,794 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (male 7,850; female 7,155)
15-64 years: 69% (male 22,499; female 24,596)
65 years and over: 9% (male 2,353; female 3,341) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.31% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 14.62 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.93 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.68 years
male: 73 years
female: 80.55 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 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

Government

Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Aruba
Data code: AA
Type of government: 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 (of the Netherlands since 30 April 1980), a constitutional monarch, is represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) who was appointed for a six-year term by the queen
head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES were appointed by the legislature
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by 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; Aruban Liberal Party (OLA), Glenbert CROES
note: governing coalition includes the AVP and OLA
International organization participation: ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (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

Economic 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 - $1.2 billion (1994 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6.1% (1994 est.)
GDP per capita: $18,000 (1994 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (1994)
Labor force: NA
by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1995)
Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1994)
Budget:
revenues: $145 million
expenditures: $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)
Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 90,000 kW
production: 330 million kWh
consumption per capita: 4,761 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: aloes; livestock; fishing
Illicit drugs: major drug money laundering center and minor transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Exports: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
partners: US 64%, EU
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products, crude oil for refining and reexport
partners: US 8%, EU
External debt: $669 million (December 1995)
Economic aid: $NA
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

Transportation

Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
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 (1995 est.)

Communications

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
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)

Defense

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands

Aruba

Original publicaton at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17, 1997).