Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and the US ______________________________________________________________________
ARUBA
(part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
@Aruba:Geography
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: 89% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
Environment - current issues: NA
Environment - international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
@Aruba:People
Population: 68,031 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years : 22% (male 7,814; female 7,127) 15–64 years: 69% (male 22,544; female 24,656) 65 years and over: 9% (male 2,433; female 3,457) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.39% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 14.2 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 6.32 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: −3.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years : 1.1 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.8 years male: 73.11 years female : 80.68 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun : Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban
Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%
Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim,
Confucian, Jewish
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,
English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
Literacy: NA
@Aruba:Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba
Data code: AA
Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles
Government type: NA
National capital: Oranjestad
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands)
Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; in 1990, Aruba requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)
National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
Constitution: 1 January 1986
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES cabinet : Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the queen is a constitutional monarch; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the queen; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for a four-year term; election last held 29 July 1994 (next to be held by July 1998) election results : Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA; Glenbert F. CROES elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms) elections: last held 29 July 1994 (next to be held by NA July 1998) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson
ODUBER]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Jan (Henny) H. EMAN]; National
Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY]; New Patriotic Party or
PPN [Eddy WERLEMEN]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET];
Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Democratic Action '86
or AD '86 [Arturo ODUBER]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert
CROES]
note: governing coalition includes the AVP and OLA
International organization participation: ECLAC (associate), Interpol,
IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Flag description: 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
Economy
Economy - overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)