1988 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1988 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
about 72 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Washington, D.C.
Environment
lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
Ethnic divisions
85% mixed African; remainder Carib Indian, European, Latin, and Oriental
Labor force
30% oil refining; 10% unemployment
Land use
0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Language
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
Literacy
95%
Nationality
noun — Aruban(s); adjective — Aruban
Population
62,125 (1987 est), average annual growth rate 0.34%
Religion
82% Roman Catholic, 8% Protestant; also small Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, and Jewish minority
Special notes
28 km from Venezuela
Terrain
flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
193 km2; land area: 193 km2
Total area
10km Sec regional map III
Government
Capital
Oranjestad
Government leaders
Acting Governor Maximo CROES; Henny EMAN, Prime Minister (since January 1986)
Legal system
based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Official name
Aruba
Suffrage
universal over age 18 Political parties and leaders: People's Electoral Movement (MEP), Nel Oduber, acting leader; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny Nisbet; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny Eman; Democratic Party of Aruba (PDA), Dr. Leo Berlinski; National Democratic Action Party (ADN), Pedro Kelly; governing coalition includes the AVP, former PPA and PDA dissidents, and the ADN (Berlinski, originally a member of the coalition government, was forced out of the Cabinet because of corruption charges in 1986; a faction of his PDA continues to support the coalition, calling itself the Democratic Action Party AD-86)
Type
self-governing until complete independence from the Netherlands is granted in 1996
Economy
Agriculture
little production
Budget
revenues, $100 million; expenditures $150 million (1985)
Electric power
310,000 kW capacity, 945 million kWh produced, 1,410 kWh per capita (1986)
GNP
$461.4 million, $6,885 per capita; real growth rate - 5.8% (1984)
Major industries
petrochemicals, oil refining, petroleum transshipment facilities, tourism, light manufacturing
Monetary conversion rate
1.8 Aruban florins=US$l (1986)
Communications
Airfield
government-owned airport east of Oranjestad
Ports
2 (Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas)
Telecommunications
facilities, which include extensive interisland radio-relay links, are generally adequate; 49,600 telephones; 3 AM and 3 FM stations; 1 TV station Defense Defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands until 1996