Demographics of Aruba

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Aruba, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Census population and average annual growth rate

Year	Pop.	±% 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:

Having poor soil and aridity, Aruba was saved 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 heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands. The population is estimated to be 82.1% Dutch, 6.6% Colombian, 5.5% Black and other ethnicities, 2.2% Venezuelan, 2.2% Dominican, 1.2% Haitian, & 0.1% unspecified.

The population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities. The Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands, and a quite big portion of Arubans who claim their ethnicity as Dutch possess Arawak blood. Although no full-blooded Aboriginals remain, the features of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic Arawak heritage. Most of the population is descended from Caquetio Indians and Dutch and to a lesser extent of Africans, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Sephardic Jewish ancestors. Recently, there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring 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. Demographically, Aruba has felt the impact of its proximity to Venezuela. Many of Aruba's families are descended from Venezuelan immigrants. There is a seasonal increase of Venezuelans living in second homes. As Aruba has a little proximity to Colombia, Colombian residents and their children are found here. Aruba is a home of Chinese, and Indo Caribbeans and Javanese, who descend largely from workers contracted from India and the island of Java in the former Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia).

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, and several other languages. Spanish and English are also spoken. Islanders can often speak four or more languages and are mostly Roman Catholic.

Population

Population of Aruba in thousands, 1961-2003

Population pyramid of Aruba

The estimated population of 2021 is 106,537 (the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects).

Vital statistics

	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	39	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	59	1 188	318	870	20.2	5.4	14.8
1970	59	1 234	289	945	20.9	4.9	16.0
1971	59	1 232	292	940	20.7	4.9	15.8
1972	60	1 201	275	926	20.1	4.6	15.5
1973	58	1 003	287	716	17.2	4.9	12.3
1974	58	962	298	664	16.5	5.1	11.4
1975	58	968	286	682	16.6	4.9	11.7
1976	58	941	300	641	16.1	5.1	11.0
1977	59	993	320	673	17.0	5.5	11.5
1978	59	1 058	284	774	18.0	4.8	13.2
1979	59	1 065	318	747	18.0	5.4	12.6
1980	60	1 125	288	837	18.8	4.8	14.0
1981	61	1 051	317	734	17.4	5.2	12.1
1982	61	1 036	313	723	16.9	5.1	11.8
1983	62	1 133	339	794	18.2	5.4	12.8
1984	63	1 169	323	846	18.6	5.1	13.4
1985	62	1 109	334	775	18.0	5.4	12.6
1986	60	1 014	377	637	16.9	6.3	10.6
1987	59	992	370	622	16.8	6.3	10.5
1988	59	949	335	614	16.0	5.6	10.3
1989	60	1 141	372	769	18.9	6.2	12.7
1990	63	1 140	419	721	18.2	6.7	11.5
1991	66	1 157	429	728	17.6	6.5	11.0
1992	69	1 292	424	868	18.7	6.1	12.6
1993	74	1 337	402	935	18.1	5.5	12.7
1994	78	1 315	431	884	16.9	5.6	11.4
1995	80	1 419	504	915	17.8	6.3	11.5
1996	83	1 452	469	983	17.5	5.6	11.8
1997	86	1 457	497	960	16.9	5.8	11.1
1998	88	1 315	505	810	14.9	5.7	9.2
1999	90	1 251	561	690	14.0	6.3	7.7
2000	91	1 294	531	763	14.3	5.9	8.4	1.98
2001	91	1 263	435	828	13.8	4.8	9.1	1.95
2002	92	1 228	492	736	13.3	5.3	8.0	1.93
2003	93	1 244	501	743	13.4	5.4	8.0	1.94
2004	95	1 193	502	691	12.5	5.3	7.3	1.89
2005	98	1 263	482	781	12.9	4.9	8.0	1.91
2006	99	1 359	539	820	13.7	5.4	8.2	2.01
2007	100	1 339	533	806	13.4	5.3	8.0	1.99
2008	101	1 319	554	765	13.1	5.5	7.6	1.97
2009	102	1 253	629	624	12.3	6.2	6.1	1.92
2010	102	1 197	619	578	11.8	6.1	5.7	1.80
2011	103	1 092	633	459	10.6	6.2	4.5	1.72
2012	104	1 140	595	545	10.9	5.7	5.2	1.75
2013	104	1 154	560	594	10.9	5.3	5.6	1.77
2014		1 376	643	733	12.8	6.0	6.8	1.86
2015		1 244	679	565	11.4	6.2	5.2	1.79
2016		1 121	781	340	10.2	7.1	2.9
2017		1 202	707	495	10.8	6.4	4.4

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates) :

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	18	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

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups of Aruba
Ethnic groups			percent
[[|]]			82.1%
Colombian			6.6%
Other			5.5%
Venezuelan			2.2%
Dominican			2.2%
Haitian			1.2%
Unspecified			0.1%

The population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities.

Languages

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

Religions

Religions of Aruba
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%