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Overview of Aruba - General Characteristics



Location



Aruba is located at latitude 12 degrees 30 minutes North and longitude 70

degrees West, outside the "hurricane belt" in the southern Caribbean
and

lies about 32 km ( 19 miles ) from the northern coast of Venezuela.



Aruba is 31 km ( 20 miles ) long and 8 km ( 5 miles ) wide, with an area of

180 sq. km. The island is divided in 8 regions and each region is subdivided

in several zones.







Climate







The average and almost constant temperature is 28C ( 82F ) with cooling

north-east trade-winds. There are no tropical storms and hurricanes and the

rainfall is very moderate.







Language







Aruba's population of over 100.000 is made up of a mixture of people who

came form all over the world to this island. Dutch is the official language

with Papiamento being the local language. English and Spanish are also

widely spoken.







Religion







The majority of the people are Roman Catholic ( 81% ) and 3% of the

populations are Protestant.







Political Structure







Head of the State is the Queen, represented by the Governor. The island is

governed by an executive council consisting of 8 Ministers who are appointed

by the legislative council This council consists of 21 elected members of

Parliament.



Aruba also has 2 Ministers Plenipotentiary abroad, one representing the

island in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom in The Hague and the other

one in Washington



On January 1, 1986 Aruba obtained its " Status Aparte " and became a

separate member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.







Infra Structure







Aruba has an advanced infrastructure which will put the Island ahead of

other Caribbean tourist destination in terms of transportation, electric and

water facilities. The Queen Beatrix International Airport has recently been

expanded and features a US Departure Hall with US Customs and Immigration

clearance facilities as well as an International Departure Hall for

destination in Europe and South-America.







Currency Unit







The official currency is the Aruban Florin ( AWG ) which is pegged to the US

Dollar at US$ 1.00 to AWG 1.78