Aruba

Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.

Main Airports

Reina Beatrix (AUA)

U.S. Embassy

The U.S. Consulate General for Aruba is at J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao
tel. 599-9-461-3066

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$2.13 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3.5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

21,800 (2004 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

3.8% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

41,500 (2004 est.)

Exports:

$80 million f.o.b.; note - includes oil reexports (2004 est.)

Exports - partners:

Netherlands 33.5%, Panama 16.7%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Netherlands Antilles 9% (2005)

Imports:

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

Imports - partners:

US 55.9%, Netherlands 12.9%, UK 3.8% (2005)

Population:

71,891 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.44% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

NA%

Major Industries:

tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Employing Workers: *

Registering Property: *

Enforcing Contracts: *

Closing a Business: *

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator

Aruba

Region

• Agriculture
• Apparel
• Arts & Crafts
• Automobile
• Bags, Cases & Boxes
• Chemicals
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Construction & Real Estate
• Consumer Electronics
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Environment
• Food & Beverage
• Furniture & Furnishing
• Health & Medicine
• Home Supplies
• Industrial Supplies
• Lights & Lighting
• Machinery
• Mineral & Materials
• Office Supplies
• Security & Protection
• Service
• Sports & Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Textile
• Toys
• Transportation