Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, situated in the southern 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.
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the 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. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round, and they lie outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites, shipwrecks and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
Transport in Aruba is facilitated by road, air, and rail. Aruba features a well-established road network, with the majority of the roads being paved. However, as one ventures towards the interior of the island, the prevalence of paved roads decreases, giving way to more rugged terrain. Conversely, coastal areas typically offer-well maintained paved roads. Aruba's road network covers a total distance of about 998 kilometres (620 mi), with 361 kilometres (220 mi) remaining unpaved.
This is a demography of the population of Aruba including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The geography of Aruba, located at the juncture of the South American and Caribbean tectonic plates, has been shaped by a complex interplay of geological processes. From its flat expanses to its rugged coastlines, Aruba's geography and geology reveal the island's geographical diversity and its underlying geological formations, offering a comprehensive understanding of Aruba's terrain and environmental dynamics of this Caribbean destination.
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 islands 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 ABC islands.
Oranjestad, the capital and most populous of Aruba's eight regions, is located on the southwestern coast of the island. In Papiamento, the local language, Oranjestad is commonly referred to as "Playa" by the locals.
The music of Curaçao is known for typical waltzes, danzas, mazurkas and a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.
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.
Arikok National Park, covering 7,907 acres (32 km2) in the northeastern region of Aruba, was officially established in 2000. Approximately 20% of Aruba's total land area is designated as a National Park, dedicated to safeguarding the park's biodiversity, geological formations and historical and cultural significance.
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.
Bushiribana and Balashi are the sites of two former gold smelters on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Willemstad is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The diocese encompasses the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean: the countries Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba. The cathedra is in the city of Curaçao. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, and a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
Jamanota is a hill situated within Aruba's Arikok National Park, reaching a height of 188 metres (617 ft) and holding the distinction of being the highest point on the island. Jamanota is a word from the Arawak language and can be explained somewhat as follows: JA or YA is spirit; MA is great or great spirit; NO is a suffix denoting a plural; TA is source. So about, Source of Great Spirits.
Papiamento has two standardised orthographies, one used on the island of Aruba and the other on the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. The Aruban orthography is more etymological in nature, while the other is more phonemic. Among the differences between the two standards, one obvious difference is the way the name of the language is written. In Aruba it is written Papiamento, while in Curaçao and Bonaire it is written Papiamentu. The governments of Curaçao and Aruba formally standardised orthographic rules in 1976 and 1977, respectively.
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.
Spaans Lagoen, which translates to "Spanish lagoon", is a coastal bay and wetland area of Aruba. Designated as a Ramsar site since 1980, and in February 2017, it was included within the boundary of the Arikok National Park. It is the only inner bay of Aruba and was formed during the last ice age. This ecosystem features tidal mudflats and mangrove swamps, serving as a vital feeding and breeding ground for birds. Spaans Lagoen is one of the highest biodiversity areas on Aruba. It is also adjacent to Arikok National Park.
