Aruba is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, just north of Venezuela. English uses the word almost only as this place-name. People outside the region mainly know it as a holiday island: dry, sunny, with beaches. It belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so it is tied to the Dutch state — though actually it is not a silent colony waiting for orders from Europe. It has its own government for most day-to-day matters. The capital is Oranjestad. A little over a hundred thousand people live there. Dutch is an official language; many islanders also speak Papiamento, and English and Spanish are common with visitors.