BUSINESS DIRECTORY Tell a FRIEND! Back To Facts Main T he island of Aruba is part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea , and lies about 12 degrees north of the equator, approximately 29km (18 miles) off the Paraguaná Peninsula of Venezuela. One of the Lesser Antilles islands, Aruba is about 30 km (19 miles) long and about 8 km (5 miles) wide with an area of 193 sq km (75 sq miles) . The island's population is about . The capital is Oranjestad named after the Dutch House of Orange. Antilles is the term used for the whole of the West Indies except the Bahama Islands. Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico form the Greater Antilles. The Lesser Antilles , extending in an arc from Puerto Rico to the northeastern coast of South America, include the Virgin Islands, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, southern group of the Netherlands Antilles (including Aruba), and, usually, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Netherlands Antilles are an integral part of the Netherlands, comprising two island groups of three islands each, the | |
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