Land and People

Aruba (ərū'bə) , island, autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 71,600), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad is the capital and main port. The population is largely a mixture of European and indigenous Caribbean peoples. Roman Catholics make up more than three quarters of the island's population, and there is a significant Protestant minority. Dutch is the official language, but many Arubans also speak Papiamento (a Spanish-based creole with Portuguese, Dutch, and English elements) and English. Tourism, oil refining, and offshore banking are the economic mainstays of the island, although the island's refinery was closed from 1985 to 1991. The Spanish claimed Aruba in 1499. It fell to the Dutch in 1636 and since then, with the exception of a few years during the Napoleonic Wars, it has belonged to the Netherlands. Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986 and is still linked with them economically.

Economy

Aruba enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region, with low poverty and unemployment rates. About half of the Aruban Gross National Product is earned through tourism or related activities. Most of the tourists are from Canada, the European Union and the United States, which is the country's largest trading partner. Before the Status Aparte (Secession from the Neth. Antilles) oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba, despite expansion of the tourism sector. Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal. The size of the agriculture and manufacturing industries remains minimal.
Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well, although recent efforts at tightening monetary policy may correct this. Aruba receives some development aid from the Dutch government each year. The Aruban florin is pegged to the United States dollar with a fixed exchange rate where 1.79 florin equals 1 US dollar.

History

Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was conquered 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 which supplied a large percentage of US oil during WWII. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles on January 1, 1986, and became a separate, self-governing member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence by 1996 was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.