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, semi-autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba’s request in 1990.
land: 180 sq km
water: 0 sq km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
arable land: 11.1% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 2.3% (2018 est.)
other: 86.6% (2018 est.)
123,702 (2023 est.)
noun: Aruban(s)
adjective: Aruban; Dutch
Dutch 78.7%, Colombian 6.6%, Venezuelan 5.5%, Dominican 2.8%, Haitian 1.3%, other 5.1% (2020 est.)
note: data represent population by nationality
Papiamento (official) (a creole language that is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and, to a lesser extent, French, as well as elements of African languages and the language of the Arawak) 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.)
Roman Catholic 75.3%, Protestant 4.9% (includes Methodist 0.9%, Adventist 0.9%, Anglican 0.4%, other Protestant 2.7%), Jehovah’s Witness 1.7%, other 12%, none 5.5%, unspecified 0.5% (2010 est.)
0-14 years: 17.32% (male 10,745/female 10,677)
15-64 years: 66.11% (male 39,490/female 42,284)
65 years and over: 16.58% (2023 est.) (male 8,237/female 12,269)
total dependency ratio: 47.8
youth dependency ratio: 24.8
elderly dependency ratio: 23
potential support ratio: 4.4 (2021 est.)
total: 40.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 39 years
female: 42.2 years
1.11% (2023 est.)
11.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
most residents live in or around Oranjestad and San Nicolaas; most settlments tend to be located on the less mountainous western side of the island
urban population: 44.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
30,000 ORANJESTAD (capital) (2018)
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: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
total: 11.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 78.3 years (2023 est.)
male: 75.2 years
female: 81.4 years
1.82 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.9 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 98.1% of population
rural: 98.1% of population
total: 98.1% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.9% of population
rural: 1.9% of population
total: 1.9% of population (2015 est.)
NA
NA
improved: urban: 97.7% of population
rural: 97.7% of population
total: 97.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.3% of population
rural: 2.3% of population
total: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)
NA
42.1% (2023 est.)
5.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8%
male: 97.8%
female: 97.8% (2018)
total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2012)
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
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
agricultural land: 11.1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 11.1% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 2.3% (2018 est.)
other: 86.6% (2018 est.)
urban population: 44.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.77% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2017 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.88 megatons (2016 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.)
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
$4.141 billion (2021 est.)
$3.534 billion (2020 est.)
$4.341 billion (2019 est.)
17.17% (2021 est.)
-18.59% (2020 est.)
0.64% (2019 est.)
$38,900 (2021 est.)
$33,200 (2020 est.)
$40,800 (2019 est.)
$2.7 billion (2017 est.)
4.26% (2019 est.)
3.63% (2018 est.)
-1.03% (2017 est.)
Fitch rating: BB (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB+ (2013)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 0.4% (2002 est.)
industry: 33.3% (2002 est.)
services: 66.3% (2002 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 60.3% (2014 est.)
government consumption: 25.3% (2015 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 22.3% (2014 est.)
investment in inventories: 0% (2015 est.)
exports of goods and services: 70.5% (2015 est.)
imports of goods and services: -76.6% (2015 est.)
aloes; livestock; fish
tourism, petroleum transshipment facilities, banking
NA
51,610 (2007 est.)
note: of the 51,610 workers aged 15 and over in the labor force, 32,252 were born in Aruba and 19,353 came from abroad; foreign workers are 38% of the employed population
7.7% (2016 est.)
NA
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $793 million (2019 est.)
expenditures: $782 million (2019 est.)
-2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
86% of GDP (2017 est.)
84.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
25.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
$79.257 million (2021 est.)
-$316.455 million (2020 est.)
$84.797 million (2019 est.)
$2.201 billion (2021 est.)
$1.444 billion (2020 est.)
$2.562 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Malaysia 57%, United States 11%, Netherlands 6%, Jordan 6%, Venezuela 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, cigarettes, whiskies, refined petroleum, scrap iron (2021)
$1.947 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.644 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.24 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
United States 48%, Netherlands 16% (2019)
refined petroleum, jewelry, cars, vehicle parts, tobacco products (2019)
$1.513 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$1.213 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$982.3 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$693.2 million (31 December 2014 est.)
$666.4 million (31 December 2013 est.)
Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1.79 (2021 est.)
1.79 (2020 est.)
1.79 (2019 est.)
1.79 (2018 est.)
1.79 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 296,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 909.442 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 10.27 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 83.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 15.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 8,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
7,891 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
1.254 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 1.254 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
174.629 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
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)
P4
1 (2021)
1
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
total: 1,000 km (2010)
total: 1 (2022)
by type: other 1
major seaport(s): Barcadera, Oranjestad
oil terminal(s): Sint Nicolaas
cruise port(s): Oranjestad
manyapis