General Overview
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.
Demographics
The island of Aruba is part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea, and lies about 12 degrees north of the equator, approximately 29km (18 miles) off the Paraguan & Peninsula of Venezuela. One of the Lesser Antilles islands, Aruba is about 30 km (19 miles) long and
about 8 km (5 miles) wide with an area of 193 sq km (75 sq miles). The island's population is about 89,000. The capital is Oranjestad named after the Dutch House of Orange.
• Country name: Antigua and Barbuda
• Capital Name: Saint John's
• Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
• Population: 69,842 (July 2008 est.)
• Nationality: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
• Languages: English (official), local dialects
• Ethnic Groups: Black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9% (2001 census)
Economy
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): $2.258 billion (2005 est.)
• GDP - real growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)
• GDP - per capita (PPP): $21,800 (2004 est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.4%
• Exports: $124 million f.o.b.; note - includes oil reexports (2006)
• Imports: $1.054 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Government
Parliamentary democratic and member country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs.
• Administrative divisions: None (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Legal system: Based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence.
• Independence: None (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
References
Aruba Tourism - Official Website
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - The World Factbook
Nation Master - World Data Center
Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
Lonely Planet - Travel Guidebook
