Aruba

• 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)

noun:

Aruban(s)

adjective:

Aruban; Dutch

total:

40.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

39.3 years

female:

42.4 years

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

0.9 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

15.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

7.3 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

78.5 years (2024 est.)

male:

75.4 years

female:

81.6 years

• difficulty in properly disposing of waste produced by large numbers of tourists;
• waste burning that occurs in the landfill causes air pollution and poses an environmental and health risk;
• ocean environmental damage due to plastic pollution

urban population:

44.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

88,132 tons (2013 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

9,695 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

11% (2013 est.)

conventional long form:

Country of Aruba

conventional short form:

Aruba

local long form:

Land Aruba (Dutch); Pais Aruba (Papiamento)

local short form:

Aruba

etymology:

• the origin of the island's name is unclear;
• according to tradition, the name comes from the Spanish phrase "oro huba" (there was gold), but in fact no gold was ever found on the island;
• another possibility is the native word "oruba," which means "well-situated"

• constituent country 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

name:

Oranjestad

geographic coordinates:

12 31 N, 70 02 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

translates as "orange town" in Dutch; the city is named after William I (1533-1584), Prince of Orange, the first ruler of the Netherlands

history:

• previous 1947, 1955;
• latest drafted and approved August 1985, enacted 1 January 1986 (regulates governance of Aruba but is subordinate to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands);
• in 1986, Aruba became a semi-autonomous entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands

chief of state:

King WILLEM-ALEXANDER of the Netherlands (since 30 April 2013); represented by Governor General Alfonso BOEKHOUDT (since 1 January 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Evelyn WEVER-CROES (since 17 November 2017)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers elected by the Legislature (Staten)

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch for a 6-year term;
• prime minister and deputy prime minister indirectly elected by the Staten for 4-year term;
• election last held on 25 June 2021 (next to be held by June 2025)

election results:

as leader of the majority party of the ruling coalition, Evelyn WEVER-CROES (MEP) elected prime minister; percent of Staten vote - NA

description:

unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 6 December 2024 (next to be held in 2028)

election results:

• percent of vote by party AVP 32.2%, MEP 31.7%, FUTURO 13.2%, PPA 6.4%;
• seats by party - AVP 9, MEP 8, FUTURO 3, PPA 1;
• composition - men NA, women NA, percentage women - NA%

highest court(s):

• Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or "Joint Court of Justice" (sits as a 3-judge panel);
• final appeals heard by the Supreme Court in The Hague, Netherlands

judge selection and term of office:

Joint Court judges appointed for life by the monarch

subordinate courts:

Court in First Instance

• Accion21
• Aruban People's Party or AVP
• Democratic Network or RED
• Movimiento Aruba Soberano (Aruban Sovereignty Movement) or MAS
• People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP
• Pueblo Orguyoso y Respeta or POR
• RAIZ (ROOTS)

• 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;
• the star represents Aruba and its red soil and white beaches, its four points the four major languages (Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, English) as well as the four points of a compass, to indicate that its inhabitants come from all over the world;
• the blue symbolizes Caribbean waters and skies;
• the stripes represent the island's two main "industries": the flow of tourists to the sun-drenched beaches and the flow of minerals from the earth

name:

"Aruba Deshi Tera" (Aruba Precious Country)

lyrics/music:

Juan Chabaya 'Padu' LAMPE/Rufo Inocencio WEVER

note: local anthem adopted 1986; as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, "Het Wilhelmus" is official (see Netherlands)

• small, tourism-dependent, territorial-island economy;
• very high public debt;
• COVID-19 crippled economic activity;
• partial recovery underway via tourism, benefitting from its high amount of timeshare residences;
• considering reopening oil refinery

agriculture:

0% (2019 est.)

industry:

11.4% (2019 est.)

services:

78.3% (2019 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

• aloes;
• livestock;
• fish

general assessment:

• the telecom sector has seen a decline in subscriber numbers (particularly for prepaid mobile services the mainstay of short term visitors) and revenue;
• fixed and mobile broadband services are two areas that have benefited from the crisis as employees and students have resorted to working from home;
• one area of the telecom market that is not prepared for growth is 5G mobile;
• governments, regulators, and even the mobile network operators have shown that they have not been investing in 5G opportunities at the present time;
• network expansion and enhancements remain concentrated around improving LTE coverage (2021)

domestic:

33 per 100 fixed-line telephone subscriptions and 130 per 100 mobile-cellular (2021)

international:

• country code - 297;
• landing points for the PAN-AM, PCCS, Deep Blue Cable, and Alonso de Ojeda submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from Trinidad and Tobago, Florida, Puerto Ricco, Jamaica, Guyana, Sint Eustatius & Saba, Suriname, Dominican Republic, BVI, USVI, Haiti, Cayman Islands, the Netherlands Antilles, through Aruba to Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile;
• extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2019)

• 2 commercial TV stations;
• cable TV subscription service provides access to foreign channels;
• about 19 commercial radio stations broadcast (2017)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 19

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

274,280 (2018)

total:

1 (2023)

by type:

other 1

total ports:

2 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

1

very small:

1

ports with oil terminals:

1

key ports:

Paardenbaai (Oranjestad), Sint Nicolaas Baai

• no regular military forces;
• Aruban Militia (ARUMIL);
• Police Department for local law enforcement, supported by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (Gendarmerie), the Dutch Caribbean Police Force (Korps Politie Caribisch Nederland, KPCN), and the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG or Kustwacht Caribisch Gebied (KWCARIB)) (2024)

• defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
• the Aruba security services focus on organized crime and terrorism;
• the Dutch Government controls foreign and defense policy;
• the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) provides maritime security;
• the Dutch military maintains a presence on Aruba, including a marine company and a naval base (2024)