Aruba

(In Details)	(In Details)

National motto: One Happy Island Official languages Dutch and Papiamento Political status State of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Capital Oranjestad Queen Beatrix Governor Fredis Refunjol Prime Minister Nelson O. Oduber Area
 - Total
 - % water (Ranked 214th)
193 km²
Negligible Population
 - Total
 - Density (Ranked 195th)
102,695 (2006)
571/km² Currency Aruban florin Time zone UTC -4 National anthem Aruba Dushi Tera Internet TLD .aw Calling Code +297 Aruba is a 32 km long island in the Caribbean Sea, 27 km north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela, and it forms a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, it has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather.It has a land area of 193 km²

History

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Main article: History of Aruba

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.

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