CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Aruba


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!| 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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 193 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0% other: 89.47% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela
 * 12 30 N, 69 58 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 193 sq km
 * slightly larger than Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 68.5 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
 * flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * NEGL; white sandy beaches
 * arable land: 10.53% (including aloe 0.01%)
 * 0.01 sq km (1998 est.)
 * lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
 * NA
 * a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 23,587; female 25,007) 65 years and over: 11.4% (male 3,347; female 4,797) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 35.7 years female: 39.1 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 5.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 75.64 years female: 82.49 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Aruban; Dutch !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 97% male: NA female: NA
 * 71,218 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 20.3% (male 7,429; female 7,051)
 * total: 37.5 years
 * 0.51% (2004 est.)
 * 11.53 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 78.98 years
 * 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Aruban(s)
 * mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%
 * Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish
 * Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
 * definition:
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Aruba !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by December 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30 October 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 52.4%, AVP 26.7%, PPA 9.6%, OLA 5.7%, Aliansa 3.5%, other 2.1%; seats by party - MEP 12, AVP 6, PPA 2, OLA 1 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: none
 * part 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
 * parliamentary democracy
 * Oranjestad
 * none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * Flag Day, 18 March
 * 1 January 1986
 * based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May 2004)
 * unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
 * Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch)
 * Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Alliance or Aliansa [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Jan (Henny) H. EMAN]; Concentration for the Liberation of Aruba or CLA [leader NA]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [Urbana LOPEZ]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY]
 * NA
 * ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WToO (associate)
 * none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
 * the US does not have an embassy in Aruba; the Consul General to Netherlands Antilles, Robert E. SORENSON, is accredited to Aruba
 * 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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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: NA !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $147 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage 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 low unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. Tourist arrivals have declined in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The government now must deal with a budget deficit and a negative trade balance.
 * purchasing power parity - $1.94 billion (2002 est.)
 * -1.5% (2002 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.)
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 3.2% (2002 est.)
 * 41,500 (1997 est.)
 * most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining
 * 0.6% (2003 est.)
 * revenues: $135.8 million
 * aloes; livestock; fish
 * tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
 * NA (2002 est.)
 * 531.9 million kWh (2001)
 * 494.7 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $128 million f.o.b. (including oil reexports) (2002 est.)
 * live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment
 * Netherlands 33.7%, Colombia 12%, Netherlands Antilles 12%, Panama 12%, Venezuela 10.8%, US 9.6% (2003)
 * $841 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
 * machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs
 * US 55.3%, Netherlands 13%, Netherlands Antilles 3.1% (2003)
 * $285 million (1996)
 * $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996
 * Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)
 * AWG
 * Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.79 (2000), 1.79 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: more than adequate international: country code - 297; 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 37,100 (2002)
 * 53,000 (2001)
 * general assessment: NA
 * AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 50,000 (1997)
 * 1 (1997)
 * 20,000 (1997)
 * .aw
 * 923 (2001)
 * NA
 * 24,000 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: 513 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) unpaved: 287 km !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: foreign-owned: Germany 1, Russia 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.) by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 800 km
 * Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
 * total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,772 GRT/7,068 DWT
 * 1 (2003 est.)
 * total: 1
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!| Military branches: !| Military - note:
 * no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard
 * defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
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