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Demographics of Aruba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aruba population pyramid in 2020

This is a demography of the population of Aruba including population density, ethnicity, nationality language use, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Census population and average annual growth rate
YearPop.±% p.a.
1930 15,659—    
1960 53,199+4.16%
1972 57,908+0.71%
1981 60,312+0.45%
1991 66,687+1.01%
2000 90,506+3.45%
2010 101,484+1.15%
Source:[1]

Having poor soil and aridity, Aruba was detached from plantation economics and the slave trade. In 1515, the Spanish transported the entire population to Hispaniola to work in the copper mines; most were allowed to return when the mines were tapped out. The Dutch, who took control a century later, left the Arawaks to graze livestock, using the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. The Arawak (namely Caquetío) heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands.

Stefanie Evangelista, the 2013 Miss Aruba

The population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities (including Asians and Europeans). Although no full-blooded Aboriginals remain, the features of half of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic Arawak heritage[citation needed]. The average Aruban has high degrees of European, Amerindian ancestry and to a lesser extent African ancestry. Some Arubans may also have varying degrees of Asian ancestry.

Aruba's population is very ethnically diverse and multicultural, descending from a mix of various people groups including Europeans, Amerindians, Africans, Asians and being home to over 120+ nationalities. The population is mostly descended from Caquetio Indians, Dutch, Spanish, Afro-Caribbeans and to a lesser extent from the Portuguese, English, French, Italian, German, Lebanese, Greek, East Indian, Chinese, Indonesian and Filipino diasporas.

Recently, there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring mainland American and Caribbean nations, possibly attracted by the higher paid jobs. In 2007, new immigration laws were introduced to help control the growth of the population by restricting foreign workers to a maximum of three years residency on the island.

Due to strong historical and cultural ties to its neighbors, Aruba has always been heavily influenced culturally, linguistically and demographically by Latin-America over the centuries. In recent decades, immigration from Latin-America to Aruba has increased. Many of Aruba's families are partially or fully descended from Venezuelan immigrants. Due to Aruba's proximity to Colombia, many Colombians and their descendants live in Aruba. Communities of Dominicans, Ecuadorians and Peruvians reside on the island as well.

Immigrants and descendants of Asian immigrants (or Asian-Arubans) also live in Aruba, namely those of Chinese, Filipino, Indian and Javanese descent. Many are descendants of colonial era contract workers and recent immigrants.

A significant minority of the population is descended from the British West-Indies, many living in the town of San Nicolas. Aruba also receives immigration from Europe, namely from the Netherlands and Southern-Europe.

The two official languages are the Dutch language and the predominant, national language Papiamento, which is classified as a creole language. This creole language is formed primarily from 16th century Portuguese, with influences from Spanish, Dutch and several other languages. Spanish and English are also widely known and spoken. Aruban people can often speak four or more languages, including the aforementioned languages.

Most people on Aruba are multilingual, meaning they can speak three to four languages. The most prominent languages on Aruba being Papiamento (the local language), Dutch, English and Spanish. All 3 ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) speak the languages listed above.[2] There are also smaller communities of speakers of other languages, such as Portuguese, French, Chinese and Sranan Tongo etc. on the island.

Children in Aruba are known to start school by the age of four and are commonly known to be multilingual by this time. Although the official languages of Aruba are Papiamento and Dutch, English and Spanish is taught through education when reaching the sixth grade. French is also taught as an optional subject in higher levels of education.

Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, practiced by about 75% of the population. Various Protestant denominations are also present on the island.[3]

Population

[edit]
Population of Aruba in thousands, 1961-2003
Population pyramid of Aruba

The estimated population as of 2021 is 106,537, per the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[4][5]. The population is of mixed ancestry, including Caquetío Indians, Europeans and Africans.[6] Between 1985 and 1987, the population declined due to emigration, but in 1990 this trend was reversed due to the development of the oil industry.[7]

Vital statistics

[edit]

[8][9][10]


Average population (x 1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) TFR
1952 38 1,958 249 1,709 50.2 6.4 43.9
1953 40 2,002 172 1,830 49.9 4.3 45.6
1954 42 2,015 205 1,810 48.2 4.9 43.3
1955 44 1,916 236 1,680 43.8 5.4 38.4
1956 46 1,918 228 1,690 41.8 5.0 36.8
1957 48 2,017 233 1,784 41.8 4.8 37.0
1958 51 1,968 232 1,736 39.0 4.6 34.4
1959 53 1,836 248 1,588 34.9 4.7 30.2
1960 54 1,916 254 1,662 35.3 4.7 30.7
1961 55 1,838 217 1,621 33.2 3.9 29.2
1962 56 1,787 215 1,572 31.8 3.8 28.0
1963 57 1,657 208 1,449 29.2 3.7 25.6
1964 57 1,556 224 1,332 27.3 3.9 23.4
1965 57 1,420 225 1,195 24.8 3.9 20.8
1966 58 1,230 219 1,011 21.3 3.8 17.5
1967 58 1,151 226 925 19.8 3.9 15.9
1968 58 1,143 258 885 19.6 4.4 15.2
1969 58 1,188 318 870 20.5 5.5 15.0
1970 58 1,234 289 945 21.3 5.0 16.3
1971 58 1,232 292 940 21.2 5.0 16.2
1972 58.047 1,201 275 926 20.1 4.6 15.5
1973 58.299 1,003 287 716 17.2 4.9 12.3
1974 58.349 962 298 664 16.5 5.1 11.4
1975 58.295 968 286 682 16.6 4.9 11.7
1976 58.368 941 300 641 16.1 5.1 11.0
1977 58.580 993 320 673 17.0 5.5 11.5
1978 58.776 1 058 284 774 18.0 4.8 13.2
1979 59.191 1 065 318 747 18.0 5.4 12.6
1980 59.909 1 125 288 837 18.8 4.8 14.0
1981 60.563 1 051 317 734 17.4 5.2 12.1
1982 61.276 1 036 313 723 16.9 5.1 11.8
1983 62.228 1 133 339 794 18.2 5.4 12.8
1984 62.901 1 169 323 846 18.6 5.1 13.4
1985 61.728 1 109 334 775 18.0 5.4 12.6
1986 59.931 1 014 377 637 16.9 6.3 10.6
1987 59.159 992 370 622 16.8 6.3 10.5
1988 59.331 949 335 614 16.0 5.6 10.3
1989 60.443 1,141 372 769 18.9 6.2 12.7
1990 62.753 1,140 419 721 18.2 6.7 11.5
1991 65.896 1,157 429 728 17.6 6.5 11.0
1992 69.005 1,292 424 868 18.7 6.1 12.6 2.214
1993 73.685 1,337 402 935 18.1 5.5 12.7 2.052
1994 77.595 1,315 431 884 16.9 5.6 11.4 2.036
1995 79.805 1,419 504 915 17.8 6.3 11.5 2.137
1996 83.021 1,452 469 983 17.5 5.6 11.8 2.088
1997 86.301 1,457 497 960 16.9 5.8 11.1 2.038
1998 88.451 1,315 505 810 14.9 5.7 9.2 1.821
1999 89.659 1,251 561 690 14.0 6.3 7.7 1.716
2000 90.588 1,294 531 763 14.3 5.9 8.4 1.896
2001 91.439 1,263 435 828 13.8 4.8 9.1 1.866
2002 92.074 1,228 492 736 13.3 5.3 8.0 1.874
2003 93.128 1,244 501 743 13.4 5.4 8.0 1.883
2004 95.138 1,193 502 691 12.5 5.3 7.3 1.787
2005 97.635 1,263 482 781 12.9 4.9 8.0 1.834
2006 99.405 1,359 539 820 13.7 5.4 8.2 2.035
2007 100.150 1,339 533 806 13.4 5.3 8.0 2.041
2008 100.917 1,319 554 765 13.1 5.5 7.6 2.024
2009 101.604 1,254 629 625 12.3 6.2 6.1 1.961
2010 101.838 1,216 619 597 11.9 6.1 5.9 1.923
2011 102.591 1,249 642 607 12.2 6.3 5.9 1.938
2012 104.110 1,311 609 702 12.6 5.9 6.8 2.019
2013 105.675 1,326 573 753 12.6 5.4 7.1 2.010
2014 106.807 1,374 653 721 12.9 6.1 6.8 2.081
2015 107.906 1,247 687 560 11.6 6.4 5.2 1.859
2016 108.727 1,264 789 475 11.6 7.3 4.4 1.899
2017 108.735 1,248 717 531 11.5 6.6 4.9 1.894
2018 108.908 1,177 730 447 10.8 6.7 4.1 1.779
2019 109.203 1,184 671 513 10.8 6.1 4.7 1.816
2020 108.587 1 052 743 309 9.7 6.8 2.9 1.638
2021 107.700 1 019 964 55 9.5 9.0 0.5 1.619
2022 107.310 915 879 36 8.5 8.2 0.3 1.463
2023 107.359 856 814 42 8.0 7.6 0.4 1.382

Structure of the population

[edit]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013): [11]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 50 117 55 859 105 976 100
0-4 3 061 3 016 6 077 5.73
5-9 3 619 3 387 7 006 6.61
10-14 3 733 3 711 7 445 7.03
15-19 3 872 3 744 7 616 7.19
20-24 3 145 2 941 6 086 5.74
25-29 2 775 2 994 5 769 5.44
30-34 3 011 3 578 6 589 6.22
35-39 3 249 3 860 7 109 6.71
40-44 3 906 4 551 8 456 7.98
45-49 4 072 4 798 8 871 8.37
50-54 4 275 4 873 9 148 8.63
55-59 3 526 4 176 7 702 7.27
60-64 2 805 3 228 6 033 5.69
65-69 1 942 2 456 4 397 4.15
70-74 1 413 1 735 3 148 2.97
75-79 886 1 368 2 254 2.13
80-84 554 842 1 396 1.32
85-89 195 370 566 0.53
90-94 65 160 225 0.21
95-99 10 55 66 0.06
100+ 4 16 20 0.02
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 10 413 10 114 20 527 19.37
15-64 34 635 38 743 73 378 69.24
65+ 5 069 7 002 12 071 11.39
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021): [12]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 50 795 56 900 107 695 100
0–4 2 652 2 455 5 107 4.74
5–9 3 174 3 045 6 219 5.77
10–14 3 415 3 379 6 793 6.31
15–19 3 551 3 301 6 852 6.36
20–24 2 786 2 592 5 377 4.99
25–29 2 945 3 048 5 994 5.57
30–34 3 177 3 456 6 633 6.16
35–39 3 206 3 716 6 922 6.43
40–44 3 284 3 993 7 277 6.76
45–49 3 400 4 059 7 459 6.93
50–54 3 800 4 596 8 396 7.80
55–59 4 018 4 720 8 738 8.11
60–64 3 683 4 464 8 147 7.56
65-69 2 954 3 576 6 530 6.06
70-74 2 112 2 573 4 685 4.35
75-79 1 322 1 781 3 102 2.88
80-84 817 1 169 1 986 1.84
85-89 347 677 1 024 0.95
90-94 122 229 351 0.33
95+ 30 72 102 0.09
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 9 241 8 879 18 120 16.83
15–64 33 850 37 944 71 794 66.66
65+ 7 704 10 077 17 781 16.51

Ethnic groups

[edit]
Group of Arubans, including Prime Minister Mike Eman, Governor Fredis Refunjol, and Edward Cheung and his family who are Arubans of Chinese descent.

Ethnic groups of Aruba [3]

  Aruban (66%)
  Other (16.5%)
  Colombian (9.1%)
  Dutch (4.3%)
  Dominican (4.1%)

The population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities and ethnic groups (including Asians and Europeans).

In 2019, recently arrived Venezuelan refugees were estimated to number around 17,000, accounting for some 15% of the island’s population.[13]

Languages

[edit]
Languages of Aruba [3]
Languages percent
Papiamento
 
 69.4%
Spanish
 
 13.7%
English
 
 7.1%
Dutch
 
 6.1%
Chinese
 
 1.5%
Other
 
 1.7%
Unspecified
 
 0.4%

Religions

[edit]
St Ann's Church, Aruba, a Catholic church.
Religions of Aruba [3]
Religions percent
Roman Catholic
 
 75.3%
Other
 
 12%
None
 
 5.5%
Protestant
 
 4.9%
Other Christian
 
 3.4%
Jehovah's Witness
 
 1.7%
Unspecified
 
 0.5%

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Better data. Better lives. – Central Bureau of Statistics – Aruba". Cbs.aw. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  2. ^ Dijkhoff, Marta; Pereira, Joyce (2010), "Language and education in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao", Creoles in Education, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 237–272, doi:10.1075/cll.36.10dij, ISBN 978-90-272-5258-6
  3. ^ a b c d "Central America and Caribbean ::ARUBA". CIA The World Factbook. 6 October 2021.
  4. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. ^ Croes, Haime; Hooimeijer, Pieter (2010). "Gender and chain migration: the case of Aruba". Population, Space and Place. 16 (2): 121–134. doi:10.1002/psp.530. ISSN 1544-8452.
  7. ^ Eelens, Frank. (1994). The population of Aruba : a demographic profile. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute/NIDI. ISBN 90-70990-49-0. OCLC 905474007.
  8. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Central Bureau of Statistics". Unstate.un.org. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. ^ "3. Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year (2002 - 2016" (PDF). Unstats.unorg. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  11. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. ^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  13. ^ "HIAS in Aruba".
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