Aruba
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Aruba is a small, generally flat, riverless island in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the coast of Venezuela. Aruba is part of the island group refered to as the Lesser Antillies and part of the region known as the Caribbean or the West Indies.
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.
Geography
Geographic Coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W
Land Area: 193 square km.
arable land: 10.53%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 89.47% (2005)
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime Claims: territorial sea to 12 nautical miles.
Natural Hazards: Limited hurricane activity. Aruba lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened.
Terrain: Flat with a few hills and scant vegetation. Its highest point is Mount Jamanota (188 meters)
Climate: Tropical marine with little seasonal temperature variation. 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)
Ecology and Biodiversity
See Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub
Caribbean islands are often portrayed as lush tropical paradises, but Aruba shares the desert scrub known as the "Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub ecoregion with the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire ((sometimes called collectively "the A-B-C’s") . This dry desert scrub ecoregion receives little rainfall. A haven for avifauna, over two hundred bird species are found here, many of which are endangered. Tourism is a major threat to this habitat as development for. Also, feral goats and sheep destroy much of the natural vegetation through grazing. Columnar cacti are common, and can grow up to six meters tall. The dominant cacti species are: Stenocereus griseus, Subpilocereus repandus, and Pilosocereus lanuginosus. These species flower and fruit profusely during the dry season, and provide critical resources for a variety of bats, birds and other animals.
There are very few endemic plant species on the islands: only two on Aruba. Nevertheless, the floral community has a distinct character. The xerophytic community of the ABC’s may not have the diversity of a tropical rainforest, but it does boast a unique fauna, with its own radiation’s. The most important components of this community are the cacti- they dominate the landscape and provide critical food resources for nectarivores and frugivores.
The Arikok National Park covers 17% of Aruba. A Coastal Protection Zone extending 1 km inland has been designated to preserve the entire northern and eastern sides of the island. On Aruba, the serious decline of at least 11 of the 48 native tree species has led to efforts to restore natural areas through out-planting and goat control. Private organizations such as the Save the Lora Association are also working to protect endangered species on the islands.
Government
Government Type: Parliamentary democracy
Capital: Oranjestad
People and Society
Population: 103,065 Note: estimate based on a revision of the base population, fertility, and mortality numbers, as well as a revision of 1985-1999 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration, which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
Median age: 37.8 years
0-14 years: 19.1% (male 9,921/female 9,758)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 34,676/female 37,752)
65 years and over: 10.6% (male 4,351/female 6,607) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.478% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 12.81 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 7.65 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 9.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 75.28 years
Total Fertility Rate: 1.85 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census)
Literacy: 97.3%
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources:
Freshwater Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):
Agriculture
Agricultural products: Aloes; livestock; fish
Irrigated Land: 0.01 sq km (1998 est.)
Economy
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. Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the US. Construction continues to boom, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the country's oil refinery reopened in 1993, providing a major source of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean. The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity):
$2.258 billion (2005 est.)
$2.205 billion (2004)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $2.258 billion (2005 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $21,800 (2004 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 33.3%
services: 66.3% (2002 est.)
Industries: Tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining.
Currency: Aruban guilders/florins
Further Reading
A detailed country profile on Aruba may be found at: The CIA World Factbook
Return to Aruba's country profile
Return to the Latin America and the Caribbean Collection