S 64%, EU

Imports: $2.12 billion (1997)

Imports--commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures,
petroleum products, crude oil for refining and reexport

Imports--partners: US 55.5%, Netherlands 12.3%, Japan 3.5%

Debt--external: $285 million (1996)

Economic aid--recipient: $26 million (1995); note?the Netherlands
provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996

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

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 6, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)

Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)

Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 300 km
paved: 130 km
unpaved: 170 km
note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large
tracts of the interior

Ports and harbors: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Merchant marine:
total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,366 GRT/1,595 DWT
(1998 est.)

Airports: 2 (1998 est.)

Airports--with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Military

Military--note: defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands

Transnational Issues

Disputes--international: none

Illicit drugs: drug-money-laundering center and transit point for
narcotics bound for the US and Europe; added to the US list of major
drug producing or drug transit countries in December 1996

======================================================================

@Ashmore and Cartier Islands
---------------------------

Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean,
northwest of Australia

Geographic coordinates: 12 14 S, 123 05 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 5 sq km
land: 5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and
Cartier Island

Area--comparative: about eight times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 74.1 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 12 nm
continental she