Aruba is located at latitude 12º30' North and longitude 70º West and lies about 32 km (19 miles) from the northern coast of Venezuela.
Aruba is 31km (18.5 miles) long and 8km (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.

Density
In 1996 the density of the population was 489 inhabitants per sq.km. (465 in 1995)

Climate
The average and almost constant temperature is 28º C (82º F) with cooling north-east trade wind. There are no tropical storms and hurricanes and the rainfall is very modest.

Language
Aruba's population of +/- 100.000 are made up of a mixture of people who came from 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 (86%) and 3% of the population is Protestant.

Political Structure
Head of State is the Queen, represented by a Governor, the island is governed by an executive council, consisting of 7 Ministers 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 part within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Currency Unit
The official currency is the Aruban Florin (AWG) which is pegged to the US Dollar. Rate: $ 1.00 is AWG 1.80.

Tourism
Aruba experienced a sharp increase in tourism from 186,000 guests in 1985 to 640,832 in 1996.