Aruba, officially known as the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, situated in the south of the Caribbean Sea. Aruba is located approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao.
The Demographics of French Guiana are characterized by a young population with 44% below the age of 20 as of 2017. The total population stood at 268,700 as of January 1, 2017. The demographic profile is a reflection of the territory's high fertility rates. Regarding nationality, as of 2010, 64.5% of the population had French nationality, while 35.5% were of foreign nationality with significant communities from Suriname, Haiti, and Brazil among others.
This article is about the ethnic groups and population of Honduras.
The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
Demographic features of the population of the former Netherlands Antilles include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
This is a demography of the population of Saint Lucia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
This is a demography of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines including population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
This is a demography of the population of Suriname, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
This article is about the demography of the population of Trinidad and Tobago including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
This is a demography of Guyana including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea and Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km off the coast of Venezuela. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State, Venezuela. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.
Papiamento or Papiamentu is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands.
The culture of Aruba, encompassing its language, music, and cuisine, is diverse and has been influenced by both regional and foreign cultures. One significant foreign influence originates from the Iberian Peninsula, which had a significant impact on the island for approximately 137 years, starting c. 1500. These influences were characaterized by a strong religious presence, missionary activities, and economic exploitation.
The official languages of the Caribbean island-state of Aruba are Papiamento and Dutch, but most Arubans speak a minimum of four languages, including English and Spanish. Schools require students to learn English, Spanish and to a lesser extent French. According to the Government of Aruba the mother tongue and primary vernacular of almost all Arubans is Papiamento, an Afro-Portuguese Creole language spoken since the 16th century. The language, however, was not widespread in Aruba till the 18th and 19th centuries when most materials on the island and even Roman Catholic schoolbooks were written in Papiamento.
Caquetío are natives of northwestern Venezuela, living along the shores of Lake Maracaibo at the time of the Spanish conquest. They moved inland to avoid enslavement by the Spaniards, while their numbers were drastically affected by colonial warfare, as were their neighbours, the Quiriquire and the Jirajara. The Caquetíos were also present in Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire when these islands were first colonized by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The occupants of this region were known as Caquetíos by the Spaniards and their language (Caquetío) belongs to the Arawakan family of languages. The Caquetío and the Jirajara spoke the same language, and their cultures were quite similar. The Arawakan or Caquetío language is termed a "ghost" language because virtually no trace of it survives. Only the name remains, saved in 17th-century texts.
The languages of the Caribbean reflect the region's diverse history and culture. There are six official languages spoken in the Caribbean:
Caquetío is an extinct Arawakan language family. The language was spoken along the shores of Lake Maracaibo, in the coastal areas of the Venezuelan state of Falcón, and on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
The origin and meaning of the name of Aruba are uncertain due to limited knowledge about the Caquetío language spoken by the Caquetío people who lived on the island before European colonization. However, the name "Aruba" is believed to be a Hispanized Indigenous name of Arawak origin.
