Aruba is an island in the Caribbean Sea, in the Lesser Antilles island community, close to Venezuela, west of Curacao, connected to the Netherlands. Venezuela claims these islands along with Aruba and Curacao and Bonaire, this is not recognized.

It was discovered by the Spanish in 1499 and became a Dutch colony in 1636. In 1986, it left the Netherlands Antilles of the Netherlands and was directly connected to the Netherlands.

Its area is 180 km² (two thirds of Gökçeada). Approximately 70,000 inhabitants (mostly in the capital city of Oranjestad) are African, indigenous, European and Indian mixed. Its official language is Dutch, although its local language is Papiamento.

While in the early 20th century refineries processing Venezuelan oil were the main source of income, tourism gained more importance after the 1980s. Relatively long beaches have contributed to the development of tourism much more than the neighboring island Curacao.

Where is Aruba