Aruba: Economy  

Aruba Factbook

Economy - overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and low unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. Tourist arrivals have declined in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The government now must deal with a budget deficit and a negative trade balance.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.94 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -1.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.2% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 41,501 (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining

Unemployment rate: 0.6% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $135.81 million
expenditures: $147 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 770 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 716.1 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production: 2,363 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption: 6,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports: NA (2001)

Oil - imports: NA (2001)

Agriculture - products: aloes; livestock; fish

Exports: $80 million f.o.b. (including oil reexports) (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment (2003)

Exports - partners: Netherlands 28.5%, Panama 17.4%, Venezuela 14.7%, Netherlands Antilles 11.2%, Colombia 10.7%, US 10.4% (2004)

Imports: $875 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs (2003)

Imports - partners: US 55.5%, Netherlands 14.1%, Venezuela 3.3% (2004)

Debt - external: $285 million (1996)

Economic aid - recipient: $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996

Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents  [Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)]

Currency Code: AWG

Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Source: CIA World Factbook 2005
(In general, information available as of 10 January 2006 was used in the preparation of this edition.)

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