_#_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%
_#_Environment: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
_#_Note: 28 km north of Venezuela
_*_People
_#_Population: 64,052 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Aruban(s); adjective--Aruban
_#_Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, also small Hindu,
Muslim, Confucian, and Jewish minority
_#_Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
_#_Labor force: NA, but most employment is in the tourist industry
(1986)
_#_Organized labor: Aruban Workers' Federation (FTA)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_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); note--in 1990 Aruba
requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the
agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996
_#_Constitution: 1 January 1986
_#_Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
common law influence
_#_National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
_#_Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral legislature (Staten)
_#_Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April
1980), represented by Governor General Felipe B. TROMP (since 1 January
1986);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Nelson ODUBER (since NA February
1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson ODUBER;
Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny EMAN;
National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY;
New Patriotic Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN;
Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Leo CHANCE;
Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI;
Democratic Action '86 (AD'86), Arturo ODUBER;
governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Legislature--last held 6 January 1989 (next to be held by January
1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) MEP 10, AVP 8, ADN 1, PPN 1, PPA 1
_#_Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate),
WCL, WTO (associate)
_#_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 economy, although
offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important.
Hotel capacity expanded rapidly between 1985 and 1989 and nearly
doubled in 1990 alone. Unemployment has steadily declined from about
20% in 1986 to about 2% in 1990. The reopening of the local oil
refinery, once a major source of employment and foreign exchange
earnings, promises to give the economy an additional boost.
_#_GDP: $730 million, per capita $11,600; real growth rate 8.8%
(1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $145 million; expenditures $185 million, including
capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)
_#_Exports: $131.6 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--mostly petroleum products;
partners--US 64%, EC
_#_Imports: $496 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--food, consumer goods, manufactures;
partners--US 8%, EC
_#_External debt: $81 million (1987)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA
_#_Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 945 million kWh produced, 15,000
kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1980-1988), $200 million
_#_Currency: Aruban florin (plural--florins);
1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1--1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
_#_Airfield: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad
_#_Telecommunications: generally adequate; extensive interisland radio
relay links; 72,168 telephones; stations--4 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 1 sea cable
to Sint Maarten
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands
_%_
_@_Ashmore and Cartier Islands
(territory of Australia)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ashmore Reef (West,
Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island
_#_Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 74.1 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploration;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;