Nearby Users
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Aruba
193 km²
Oranjestad
Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)
297
.aw
Papiamento, Spanish, English, Dutch, unspecified or unknown
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish)
100,018
parliamentary democracy
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
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.
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
