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%
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:
531.9 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
494.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
aloes; livestock; fish
Exports:
$1.88 billion f.o.b. (including oil reexports) (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery
and electrical equipment, transport equipment
Exports - partners:
Netherlands 28.6%, Colombia 21.7%, Panama 16.8%, US 12.1%,
Netherlands Antilles 8.3%, Venezuela 7.6% (2002)
Imports:
$2.21 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and
reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
US 54.7%, Netherlands 12.7%, UK 5.7% (2002)
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:
Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)
Currency code:
AWG
Exchange rates:
Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001),
1.79 (2000), 1.79 (1999), 1.79 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Aruba
Telephones - main lines in use:
33,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
3,402 (1997)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: more than adequate
international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands
Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
50,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)
Televisions:
20,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.aw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA
Internet users:
24,000 (2002)
Transportation Aruba
Railways:
0 km
Highways:
total: 800 km
paved: 513 km
note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large
tracts of the interior (1995)
unpaved: 287 km
Waterways:
none
Ports and harbors:
Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
Merchant marine:
total: 3
note: there is one foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of
convenience: Monaco 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1
Airports:
1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Military Aruba
Military branches:
no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Dutch Navy and
Marines, Coast Guard
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Transnational Issues Aruba
Disputes - international:
none
Illicit