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World > North America > Aruba
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Aruba |
Introduction:
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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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| Official name: |
Aruba |
| Capital: |
name: Oranjestad
geographic coordinates: 12 31 N, 70 02 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Government type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Population: |
100,018
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 2007 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) |
| Official Currency: |
Aruban Florin (old guilder) (AWG) |
| Currency code: |
AWG |
| Area: |
total: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
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Map of Aruba
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