Demographics of Aruba

This is a demography 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.

Aruba population pyramid in 2020

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 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 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. Although no full-blooded Aboriginals remain, the features of half of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic Arawak heritage. The population is descended from Caquetio Indians, Afro-Caribbeans, Dutch, Spanish, Italians and to a lesser extent of Indo-Caribbeans, Portuguese, English, French, and Filipino diaspora. 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. 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. Descendants of Indian and Javanese contract workers also live in Aruba.

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.

Many people in the Aruba island culture are multilingual, meaning they can speak more than two or three languages. Languages in this culture are known to be mainly Spanish and English, but also include languages such as Dutch, Portuguese and a local language known as Papiamento. The Leeward islands also known as the (ABC) islands are Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao. All three islands include the languages listed above.

Children in Aruba are known to start school by the age of four and are commonly known to be multilingual by this time. Although main languages for Aruba are Papiamento and Dutch, English and Spanish is taught through education when reaching the sixth grade.

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

Population

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. The population is of mixed ancestry, including Caquetio Indians, Africans, and Europeans. 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.

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		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	60.811	1,232	292	940	20.7	4.9	15.8
1972	61.293	1,201	275	926	20.1	4.6	15.5
1973	61.717	1,003	287	716	17.2	4.9	12.3
1974	61.788	962	298	664	16.5	5.1	11.4
1975	61.982	968	286	682	16.6	4.9	11.7
1976	62.288	941	300	641	16.1	5.1	11.0
1977	62.755	993	320	673	17.0	5.5	11.5
1978	63.049	1 058	284	774	18.0	4.8	13.2
1979	63.931	1 065	318	747	18.0	5.4	12.6
1980	64.364	1 125	288	837	18.8	4.8	14.0
1981	65.165	1 051	317	734	17.4	5.2	12.1
1982	61.965	1 036	313	723	16.9	5.1	11.8
1983	63.190	1 133	339	794	18.2	5.4	12.8
1984	62.760	1 169	323	846	18.6	5.1	13.4
1985	62.760	1 109	334	775	18.0	5.4	12.6
1986	61.028	1 014	377	637	16.9	6.3	10.6
1987	60.192	992	370	622	16.8	6.3	10.5
1988	60.422	949	335	614	16.0	5.6	10.3
1989	61.655	1,141	372	769	18.9	6.2	12.7
1990	63.509	1,140	419	721	18.2	6.7	11.5
1991	67.358	1,157	429	728	17.6	6.5	11.0
1992	69.005	1,292	424	868	18.7	6.1	12.6
1993	73.685	1,337	402	935	18.1	5.5	12.7
1994	77.595	1,315	431	884	16.9	5.6	11.4
1995	79.804	1,419	504	915	17.8	6.3	11.5
1996	83.021	1,452	469	983	17.5	5.6	11.8
1997	86.300	1,457	497	960	16.9	5.8	11.1
1998	88.451	1,315	505	810	14.9	5.7	9.2
1999	89.658	1,251	561	690	14.0	6.3	7.7
2000	90.588	1,294	531	763	14.3	5.9	8.4	1.98
2001	91.439	1,263	435	828	13.8	4.8	9.1	1.95
2002	92.074	1,228	492	736	13.3	5.3	8.0	1.93
2003	93.128	1,244	501	743	13.4	5.4	8.0	1.94
2004	95.138	1,193	502	691	12.5	5.3	7.3	1.89
2005	97.634	1,263	482	781	12.9	4.9	8.0	1.91
2006	99.405	1,359	539	820	13.7	5.4	8.2	2.01
2007	100.149	1,339	533	806	13.4	5.3	8.0	1.99
2008	100.916	1,319	554	765	13.1	5.5	7.6	1.97
2009	101.604	1,254	629	625	12.3	6.2	6.1	1.92
2010	101.838	1,216	619	597	11.9	6.1	5.9	1.80
2011	102.591	1,249	642	607	12.2	6.3	5.9	1.72
2012	104.110	1,311	609	702	12.6	5.9	6.8	1.75
2013	105.675	1,326	573	753	12.6	5.4	7.1	1.77
2014	106.807	1,374	653	721	12.9	6.1	6.8	1.86
2015	107.906	1,247	687	560	11.6	6.4	5.2	1.79
2016	108.727	1,264	789	475	11.6	7.3	4.4	1.83
2017	108.735	1,248	717	531	11.5	6.6	4.9	1.81
2018	108.908	1,177	730	447	10.8	6.7	4.1	1.69
2019	109.203	1,184	671	513	10.8	6.1	4.7	1.71
2020	108.587	1 052	743	309	9.7	6.8	2.9	1.55
2021	107.700	1 019	964	55	9.5	9.0	0.5	1.69
2022	107.310	915	879	36	8.5	8.2	0.3	1.46

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013):

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):

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

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

  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.

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

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

St Ann's Church, Aruba, a Catholic church.

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%