"Aruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region. There is a low unemployment rate.
The GDP per capita for Aruba was estimated to be $21,800 in 2004; among the highest in the Caribbean and the Americas.[7] Its main trading partners are Venezuela, the United States and the Netherlands.
A graphical breakdown of Aruba's economy by exportsThe island's economy has been dominated by five main industries: tourism, gold mining, phosphate mining (The Aruba Phosphaat Maatschappij), aloe export, and petroleum refining (The Lago Oil & Transport Company and the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij Shell Co.).[citation needed] Before the "Status Aparte" (a separate completely autonomous country/state within the Kingdom), oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba despite expansion of the tourism sector. Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal. The size of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors also remains minimal.
The inflation on Aruba in 2007 was 8.7%.
The exchange rate of the Aruban florin has remained steady in recent years at 1.78 florins to 1 US dollar.[7] Because of this fact, and due to a large number of American tourists, many businesses operate using US dollars instead of florins, especially in the hotel & resort districts.
TourismAbout three quarters of the Aruban gross national product is earned through tourism or related activities. Most tourists are from (mainland) the Netherlands,Venezuela and the United States (predominantly from eastern and southern states).
As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, citizens of (mainland) the Netherlands can travel with relative ease to Aruba and other islands of the Dutch Antilles. No visas are needed for Dutch citizens, only a passport, and although the currency used in Aruba is different (the Netherlands has the Euro), Euro's are still widely accepted and easily exchanged for Aruban Florins.
For the facilitation of the passengers whose destination is the United States, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) full pre-clearance facility in Aruba has been in effect since 1 February 2001 with the expansion in the Queen Beatrix Airport. United States and Aruba have had the agreement since 1986. It began as a USDA and Customs post. Since 2008, Aruba has been the only island to have this service for private flights." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruba#Economy,Accessed on 8 April 2013)
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