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Aruba * Home ! Geography & Travel ! Physical Geography of Land

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Land Aruba
People island, Caribbean Sea
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By Harmannus Hoetink • Last Updated: Nov 2, 2022 • Edit History
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Additional Reading Head Of Government: Prime

Minister: Evelyn Wever-Croes
Contributors
Capital: Oranjestad
Article History
Population: (2022 est.) 109,400

Head Of State: Dutch Monarch:

King Willem-Alexander,
represented by Governor:
...(ShowAlfons…
more)

Official Languages: Dutch;

Papiamentu

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Summary

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Oranjestad, Aruba

Aruba, island lying southwest of the Lesser

Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, some 50 miles (80
km) northwest of Curaçao and 18 miles (29 km)
north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná.

Aruba

Aruba was formerly a part of the Netherlands

Antilles. In 1986 it became a separate self-
governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Tourists flock to Aruba, attracted by its white-sand
beaches in the south and west, rugged coastline in
the northeast, and desert environment in the
interior. The capital is Oranjestad, which also is
the main port.

Land

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West Indies

Aruba is 20 miles (32 km) long and 6 miles (10

km) across at its widest point. Generally low in
elevation, the island consists largely of igneous
rocks overlain by limestone deposits and is fringed
with coral reefs. Its highest point is Mount
Jamanota, which rises to 620 feet (189 metres)
above sea level. Among the isolated steep-sided
hills that characterize the landscape is the
mountain known as Hooiberg (“Haystack”), which
reaches 560 feet (171 metres). In some places
immense monolithic boulders of diorite are
peculiarly piled on top of one another. Aruba has
barren soil with little or no natural irrigation. Most
drinking water is obtained by desalinating
seawater. The temperature varies little from an
annual average of 81 °F (27 °C), and the heat is
tempered by northeasterly trade winds.
Precipitation is low and variable, usually
amounting to about 17 inches (430 mm) per year.
The island lies outside the usual path of
hurricanes, though one occasionally does reach it.
The natural vegetation consists of a variety of
drought-resistant cacti, shrubs, and trees.

People

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Aruba: Urban-rural

Most of Aruba’s population is ethnically mixed,

including many people of American Indian
ancestry, often in combination with Dutch,
Spanish, and African heritage. There are few
people of predominantly African descent, however,
because—unlike most other Caribbean islands—
Aruba had few slave-based plantations during
colonial times.

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Aruba: Linguistic composition

The official languages are Dutch and Papiamentu

(also spoken in Curaçao and Bonaire), a creole that
evolved mainly from Portuguese, Spanish, and
Dutch. English and Spanish are also widely used.
About three-fourths of the people are Roman
Catholic; there are small minorities of Protestants
and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The birth and death
rates are both relatively low, and the rate of natural
increase is less than average for the West Indies.
Life expectancy for both men and women is among
the highest in the region and is comparable to that
in developed countries.

Economy

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Aruba: Major import sources

Services form the basis of the Aruban economy.

These activities centre primarily on tourism, but
offshore banking and other services are also
important. Until the end of the 18th century, Aruba
was used by the colonial authorities for horse
breeding, and local and mainland Indians served
as herdsmen. Only from the early 19th century was
land sold to individual settlers. Agriculture
remained of little importance despite efforts to
grow aloe for pharmaceutical products. Gold
mining began in 1824 but was discontinued in the
early 20th century. Aruba’s economy improved
when oil refining started in the 1920s at the port of
San Nicolas (Sint Nicolaas); crude oil was
imported mainly from Venezuela. The refinery
closed in 1985, provoking a serious economic
crisis. Arubans responded by aggressively
promoting and expanding tourism, including
building luxury hotels and casinos, to exploit the
idyllic island setting. The refinery reopened in
1990 and resumed full production by 1993, but,
after operating at a loss for a number of years, it
closed again in 2012.

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shopping centre in Oranjestad

The economy has been diversified by developing a

free-trade zone, a data-processing sector, and
international offshore financial services. The island
has an international airport and is further linked to
the outside world by steamship and cruise ship
services. Local currency is the Aruban florin, which
is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Government and society

A governor, appointed to a six-year term by the
Dutch crown, is the formal head of government
and representative of the reigning monarch of the
Netherlands. Executive authority is vested in a
Council of Ministers, headed by a prime minister.
The council is responsible to a 21-member
unicameral legislature, the Staten (States), elected
by universal adult suffrage. The vast majority of
the population is literate. Primary and secondary
education are free and, since 1999, compulsory
from age 4 to 16. Dutch is the main language of
instruction, with Papiamentu being used in some
primary classrooms. The University of Aruba, a
teacher’s college, and a community college provide
postsecondary instruction, though most Arubans
go abroad for higher education. Health standards
on the island are high.

Cultural life

Aruba

Aruba’s long stretches of white sand and clear

waters attract numerous tourists. The Cultural
Center in Oranjestad offers concerts, ballet,
folkloric presentations, and art exhibits throughout
the year. The city also includes historical,
archaeological, and numismatic museums. The
New Year’s Day festivities and pre-Lenten Carnival
in February are especially colourful and popular
celebrations.

History of Aruba
This section focuses specifically on the history and
development of the island of Aruba. For a
discussion of the history of Aruba in its broader,
regional context, see West Indies.

Dutch-style building in Oranjestad

The island’s earliest inhabitants were Arawak

Indians, who left behind red cave drawings and
clay pottery and stone tools. After Aruba was
claimed by Spain in 1499, it became a centre of
piracy and smuggling. In 1636 it was taken by the
Dutch and occupied by the Dutch West India
Company. As part of the Netherlands Antilles,
Aruba came briefly under British rule during the
Napoleonic Wars but was returned to the
Netherlands in 1816.

The economy remained weak until an oil refinery

was constructed at San Nicolas (Sint Nicolaas) in
the 1920s, which raised the standard of living
dramatically. Immigration from the rest of the
Caribbean, the United States, Venezuela, and
Europe contributed to a substantial increase in
population. Despite its new economic strength,
Aruba remained politically subordinated to the
Antilles’ main island of Curaçao.

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In 1986 Aruba obtained autonomous status, the

result of a popular movement led by the People’s
Electoral Movement (Movimento Electoral di
Pueblo) to break away from Curaçaoan—rather
than from Dutch—domination. In 1994 the Aruban
government, in conjunction with the governments
of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles,
decided to postpone indefinitely the transition to
full independence.

Harmannus Hoetink

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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