Aruba | Facts & Information

Map of Aruba

Facts & Figures

• Status: Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

  Governor: Fredis Refunjol (2004)

  Prime Minister: Mike Eman (2009)

  Current government officials

  Total area: 75 sq mi (193 sq km)

  Population (July 2014 est.): 110,663 (growth rate: 1.36%); birth rate: 12.65/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.74/1000; life expectancy: 76.35

  Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Oranjestad, 37,000

  Monetary unit: Aruban guilder/florin

  Languages: Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 69.4%, Spanish 13.7%, English (widely spoken) 7.1%, Dutch (official) 6.1%, Chinese 1.5%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)

  Ethnicity/race: Dutch 82.1%, Colombian 6.6%, Venezuelan 2.2%, Dominican 2.2%, Haitian 1.2%, other 5.5%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)

  Religions: Roman Catholic 75.3%, Protestant 4.9% (includes Methodist .9%, Adventist .9%, Anglican .4%, other Protestant 2.7%), Jehovah's Witness 1.7%, other 12%, none 5.5%, unspecified 0.5% (2010 est.)

  National Holiday: Flag Day, March 18

  Literacy rate: 96.8% (2010 est.)

  Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2009 est.): $2.516 billion; per capita $25,300. Real growth rate: 2.4%. Inflation: -0.2% (2013 est.). Unemployment: 6.9% (2005). Arable land: 11.11% aloe plantations included (0.01%). Agriculture: aloes; livestock; fish. Labor force: 51,610 (2007 est.); most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining. Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining. Natural resources: negl.; white sandy beaches. Exports: $2.222 billion (including oil reexports) (2013 est.): live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment. Imports: $3.162 billion (2013 est.): machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, Colombia, U.S., U.K. (2012).

  Major sources and definitions