Where in Latin America is Aruba? Is the country rich?

Aruba is located in the westernmost Dutch overseas territory of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean. Area 193 km2. Population is 72,000 (1993). 80% is a mixture of Caribbean Indians and European whites. The official language is Dutch, Papiamentu (a Creole language based on Spanish with Portuguese, Dutch and English words) is widely used, and Spanish and English are also widely used. 80% residents believe in Catholicism and 3% believe in Protestantism. The capital, Oranstad.

It is 25 kilometers away from the coast of Venezuela in the south, and together with Bonaire Island and Cura? ao Island in the east, it is called ABC Islands. The island is 3 1.5km long and 9.6km wide. The terrain is low and flat, only Hoyberg Mountain is 165 meters above sea level. There is no river. It has a tropical climate with a small temperature difference. The average temperature is 28.8℃ in the hottest month (August-September) and 26. 1℃ in the coldest month (1-February). The climate is extremely dry and precipitation is scarce. Generally speaking, the annual precipitation does not exceed 508 mm. Most of the drinking water on the island needs to be provided by desalination.

The earliest inhabitants of the island were Arawak Indians. 1499 After the Spanish occupied the island, it became the center of looting and smuggling at sea. It is said that the Spanish once searched for gold here, and the word "Aruba" was named after the Spanish word "gold" (also known as "shell" in the Indian Caribbean). The Dutch occupied the island in 1643. 1807 was plundered by the British again. 18 14 returned to Dutch jurisdiction and became a part of the Netherlands Antilles. At the end of 1954, the Netherlands legally recognized the "autonomy" of the Netherlands Antilles in internal affairs. In the referendum held in 1977, the overwhelming majority supported Aruba independence. 1 986 65438+1October1day, Aruba officially declared its independence from the Netherlands Antilles and became a separate political entity, and plans to achieve full independence in 1996. 1989 After the general election, the Aruban People's Election Movement, the Aruban Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Movement formed a coalition government. 1June, 1990, Aruba renegotiated with the Dutch government, reached a new agreement, and cancelled the clause of 1996 about the complete independence of the island.

Aruba is an overseas territory of the Netherlands, and its internal affairs are completely independent. The Netherlands is responsible for national defense and diplomacy. Beatrix wilhelmina armgard is its head of state, and the Governor appointed by the Queen is her representative. Governor F. Tromp took office on 1986. The unicameral parliament is a legislative body composed of 265,438+0 members elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years. 1993 In the general election held on June 8th, the Aruba People's Election Movement won 9 seats, the Aruba People's Party won 9 seats, and the Aruba Patriotic Party, the National Democratic Action Party and the New Patriotic Party each won 1 seat. The government calls it the Council of Ministers, which usually consists of political parties with a majority of seats in parliament. The government was formed in March 1993 (after a slight reorganization). The Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs are N. Audoubert, Deputy Prime Minister M. Follanyi King and Minister of Economy and Tourism E. Brisson. There are seven political parties on the island. The Aruba People's Election Movement was founded in 197 1, and it is an international member of the Socialist Party, led by N. Audoubert. The Aruba People's Party, the main opposition party, was founded in 1942 and was once in power, led by H. Ayman.

The two pillars of Aruba's economy are petroleum smelting (including petroleum transportation and petroleum product processing) and tourism. In addition to the oil industry, there are also some light industrial enterprises, such as tobacco products and beverages. The seawater desalination plant built in 1960 is one of the largest desalination plants in the world, with a daily desalination capacity of 20.8 million liters. Apart from a small amount of limestone and phosphate minerals, there are no important mineral deposits on the island. The land is barren and only a small amount of aloe is planted. Because the sun shines all year round and the climate is pleasant, it is not invaded by hurricanes, but the northeast sea breeze is constant all year round, making it difficult for mosquitoes and flies to survive, so it is called "sanitary island" Tourism plays an increasingly important role in Aruba's national economy. The main tourist attractions are palm beach and early Indian caves. There is no railway on the island, but there is an all-weather road network. This road is 380 kilometers long. Waterway traffic is developed. Ocean-going ships can be parked in the capital, and there is an international airport connecting the United States, Europe, Central America, South America and Caribbean countries. 199 1 annual GDP is 103 billion USD. Currency name: Aruba Frohring, 1.79 Frohring pair 1 USD (fixed exchange rate). It mainly imports fossil fuels and lubricants, machinery and transportation equipment, food and chemical products. Export petroleum products, etc. The main trade targets are the United States, Venezuela and other countries. Foreign aid mainly depends on the Netherlands. Residents enjoy free medical care. Implement non-compulsory education. Primary education begins at the age of 6 and lasts for 6 years. Secondary education lasts for five years. Government expenditure on education accounts for about 25% of the budget. There is no university. There are six kinds of newspapers on the island, mainly Friends of Aruba (Dutch) and News (English). Aruba TV is a commercial TV station. Six radio stations, except 1, are religious and cultural stations, and the rest are commercial stations.

history

Kaktios Indian, belonging to Arawak tribe, is the earliest resident of Aruba, and its history can be traced back to around 1 0,000 years. The Spanish explorer Allonzot de Ojeda who set foot on the island in 1499 thought that he was the first person to come here.

Aruba was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 1636 and lasted for about 200 years under Dutch rule. Until 1805, due to the influence of the Napoleonic wars, the Netherlands gradually lost control of Aruba and was taken over by Britain, but it was returned to the Netherlands in 19 16.

Since the colonial era, Aruba's main economy has undergone three stages of changes. /kloc-the gold rush in the 0/9th century was replaced by the discovery of oil fields and the establishment of oil refineries in 1924. After 1990, the tourism industry on the island gradually rose and became one of the important economic sources on the island.

Aruba was originally a part of the Netherlands Antilles, and it is also the richest one in the islands. At a meeting attended by the Netherlands, the central government of the Netherlands Antilles and all the governments of the Netherlands Antilles, including Aruba, Aruba was upgraded to an independent autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in March 1983. From 1 986 65438+1October1,Aruba officially separated from the Netherlands Antilles. Since then, the whole kingdom of the Netherlands has become composed of three people: the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Although the complete independence of Aruba as a single country was initially put on the agenda, it was expected to be independent in 1996, but it was stopped in 1994 due to the opposition of residents and the communication between the Dutch government, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch government is mainly worried about the safety of the island, fearing that it will become a transit point for drugs produced in Central and South America, while the Aruba government is worried that independence will lead to increased unemployment and economic instability.

politics

Aruba is an independent entity or autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with complete autonomy in internal affairs. Only the central government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is responsible for national defense, diplomacy and supreme judicial power. 1986 promulgated the constitution, giving the local people the power to elect their own prime minister and lead a cabinet composed of 18 people, while the governor was directly appointed by the Dutch monarch for a term of six years. The election of the Prime Minister is indirectly elected by the elected 2 1 parliamentary assembly, and the term of office of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister is four years.

geography

Aruba is a limestone island with flat terrain and no rivers at all, and is famous for its surrounding white beaches. Although it is located in the tropical region, Aruba can maintain a stable climate of 27 degrees Celsius all the year round, which is beneficial to the development of tourism. You can see Mount Jamanota, the highest point on the island, which is only 188 meters away from the sea level. Compared with the barren east coast, the west coast is much richer in vegetation and population.

Because it is an independent autonomous region, there is no smaller sub-administrative division under Aruba, but in its east, it is adjacent to two islands, Cura? ao, which are both Dutch territories and belong to the Netherlands Antilles. Ao) and Bonaire Island, which are commonly referred to as "ABC Island".

economy

About half of Aruba's gross national product (GNP) comes from tourism or related industries, and most tourists come from other countries in America, among which American tourists account for the majority. In addition, oil refining and shipping still contribute a lot to Aruba's income, while agriculture and production account for a small proportion. Up to now, the Netherlands still pays a considerable amount of development aid to Aruba every year, and the development of overseas business services in recent years is also worrying.

As the most important economic source in Aruba, the refinery was once closed in 1985, but it resumed operation after 1993. Now it is the only representative industrial production on the island, and it also provides a lot of foreign trade income and job opportunities.

Before it was upgraded to an autonomous institution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba originally used the same monetary unit as its motherland, called the Aruba Shield (AWG). However, after 1986 became an autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba set up its own central bank and issued a new currency unit Aruban Frohring (its international currency code is still called AWG, although it is often referred to as the abbreviation of Afl). Aruba Frohring operates in the way of locking the exchange rate with the US dollar, and each US dollar is convertible to 1.79 Aruba Frohring, which has not changed since it opened. High inflation all the year round is a hidden worry of Aruba's economy, but the island's ultra-low unemployment rate is only 1%, which is still rare compared with neighboring Caribbean countries.

Human population

A high proportion of Aruba's population belongs to African descent, mainly African descendants who were forced to immigrate here as slaves between 17 and 19 centuries, but they are often mixed with local indigenous Indians. In addition, there are some descendants of Europeans and Asians.

Linguistically, based on the background that Aruba was originally a Dutch colony, Dutch is the official language, and all official documents are recorded and circulated in Dutch. However, the native language of local residents is a Creole dialect called Papiamento, which includes Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch, Arawanese Indian and even African, and is mainly popular in ABC Island. In addition, in order to keep pace with the international environment and most Spanish-speaking countries around, English and Spanish are also used by many people in Aruba and included in the official education curriculum.

Religiously, about 80% of Aruba people believe in Catholicism.

Culture and tourism

Aruba's complex ethnic mix means cultural diversity. In addition to the influence of the Netherlands, you can also see many other European countries and even African cultures here. In recent years, a large number of American tourists come here for vacation (about 60% of the 700,000 tourists every year), which has brought the influence of American culture. However, some people are worried that the over-inflated number of tourists will have an impact on the island, so measures to limit the number of tourists are discussed.

Palm Beach on the west coast of Aruba Island is the main gathering place for tourists on the island. It is famous for its 10 km continuous white sand beaches and seaside holiday houses, and also has the reputation of turquoise coast.

Queen Beya Trix International Airport is located in the suburb of Oranjestad, the capital. There are many international flights to major cities on the east coast of the United States, which is the most convenient way to Aruba.