阿鲁巴(Aruba)

委内瑞拉西北方小安地列斯群岛的一个岛屿（2001年人口约97,200）。为荷兰一个单独的自治领地。面积180平方公里。首府：奥拉涅斯塔德（Oranjestad）。居民大多为混血种，常混杂有美洲印第安人、荷兰人、西班牙人和非洲人血统。语言：荷兰语（官方语），而日常用语为帕皮亚门托语（Papiemento），是一种混合语。宗教：多信奉天主教。货币：阿鲁巴弗罗林（Aruban florin）。缺乏水源严重地限制了农业发展。1985年世界最大之一的炼油厂关闭以前曾是阿鲁巴主要就业来源。此後，旅游业成为主要的经济项目。印第安人阿拉瓦克人是这里最早的居民，他们的洞穴绘画至今仍可见。虽然在1636年即被荷兰占据，但直到1816年才开始积极发展此地。荷兰控制阿鲁巴的国防与外交事务，但内政则由一岛国政府主持其本身的司法和通货。1986年脱离荷属安地列斯（Netherlands Antilles）联邦，朝独立跨出了一步。

English version：

Aruba

Island (pop., 1994: 72,000), Lesser Antilles, off northwestern Venezuela. Aruba is an internally self-governing part of the Netherlands. It has an area of 70 sq mi (180 sq km). Its capital is Oranjestad. Most of the present-day population is a combination of Amerindian, Spanish, and Dutch, with traces of African stocks. Dutch is its official language; Papiamento, a creole language, is used for daily affairs. The principal religion is Roman Catholicism. Its currency is the Aruban florin. Aruba's lack of water severely limits agriculture. Its petroleum-refining complex, among the world's largest, was the main source of employment until it closed in 1985. Since then, tourism has become the island's economic mainstay. The island's earliest inhabitants were Arawak Indians, whose cave drawings can still be seen. Though the Dutch took possession of Aruba in 1636, they did not begin to develop it aggressively until 1816. The Netherlands controls Aruba's defense and foreign affairs, but internal affairs are handled by an island government directing its own judiciary and currency. In 1986 Aruba seceded from the Federation of the Netherlands Antilles, in an initial step toward independence.