@Aruba

Aruba Introduction

Background: 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.

Aruba 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: 193 sq km

land: 193 sq km

water: 0 sq km

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: arable land: 7% (including aloe 0.01%)

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 0%

other: 93% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 0.01 sq km

Natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Environment - current issues: NA

Aruba People

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 - adult prevalence rate: NA%