(1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 32,052 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $72.1 million (1999)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 4% (1999)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding,
separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional
demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic
consumption; increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit
drugs—mostly opium and hashish—to Western Europe and the US via
Iran, Central Asia, and Russia
======================================================================
@Aruba——
Geography
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
Natural resources: NEGL; white sandy beaches
Land use:
arable land: 11%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: 89% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
Environment—current issues: NA
Environment—international agreements: party to: NA signed, but not ratified: NA
People
Population: 68,675 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 22% (male 7,724; female 7,106)
15–64 years: 69% (male 22,723; female 24,747)
65 years and over: 9% (male 2,623; female 3,752) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.55% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 13.28 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: −1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.84 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.04 years male: 73.33 years female: 80.94 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban
Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%
Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim,
Confucian, Jewish
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
Literacy: NA
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba
Data code: AA
Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles
Government type: parliamentary
Capital: Oranjestad
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands)
Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; in 1990, Aruba requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)
National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
Constitution: 1 January 1986
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands
(since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo
KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29
July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES
cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten)
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for
a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime
minister elected by the Staten for a four-year term; election last
held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001)
election results: inconclusive; no party won majority in December
1997 parliamentary elections; no new government formed as of May 1998
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats;
members elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA
December 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—AVP
10, MEP 9, OLA 2
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges are
appointed by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party or MEP
International organization participation: Caricom (observer),
ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO
(associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the
Kingdom of the Netherlands)