Terrain flat with a few hills; scant vegetation. Agriculture products: aloes; livestock; fish
Aruba's economy is backed up by a Dutch credit line. The island nation exports cigars and rum, yet 98,9% of its exports come from Venezuelan oil refined on the island and tourism. In 1985, Exxon Co., owner of the refinery, pulled up staked, thus leaving the island's economy on the ropes. Joblessness climbed back to 20% and the government turned to tourism, an industry now purveying 35% of Aruba's gross national product. In the following years, authorities strove to cut down on tourism's dependency by fostering other industrial activities.
Life expectancy is 70.4 years for men and 74.8 years for women. Population density: 220.2 inh/km² Birth rate: 22%. (1991). Mortality rate: 7%. (1991). Illiteracy: 1.6%. Daily calorie intake: 2 558
Oil is one of the country's major staples imported from Venezuela to be refined on the island.
The country's main developing industries are tourism and refineries to process oil imported from Venezuela. For the sake of tourist development, economic projects to both widen and diversify the number of hotel rooms have been put in place. Other tourist options to foster a bustling activity and more income gains in this industry have also been taken account of.
Fishing in Aruba is a small-scale enterprise and many fishermen take it a part-time job, thus combining their interest in fishing with other activities. In 1993, port authorities in Aruba –charged with registering fishing boats- tallied a fleet of 261 vessels, 120 of them used for fishing activities. This is not a well-developed industry on the island nation and it's usually tapped into by the tourist and private sectors. There are scores of private fleets whose boats are out for rent. Fishing trips normally take between 8 and 12 hours long and are focused on a 20-kilometer ratio off the coast. The most coveted marine life species are red snappers and groupers. But when the chance comes, anglers go for jacks, trumpet fish, rounder and troopers. The most sought-after species is the red snapper. However, other snapper-like fish are also put on the market. Cases in point are the plain snapper, the rounder and the wenchman, all of them highly coveted by both anglers and cooks. Though offshore fishing is conducted in open seasons given weather and ocean conditions such as winds and undertows, trawl fishing is practiced all year round. Nevertheless, there’s also a trawl fishing season that matches the passage through the waters off Aruba of migratory marine life species like the wahoo, mackerel, tuna and dorado. Long fishnet catching involves snorkeled divers. The Atlantic bonito is the smallest of the tuna family and is usually snarled not only for consumption but also to be used as bait for bigger species. Catching fish goes on to be a traditional way that has lived out time and remains an activity essentially done for consuming purposes.
During almost a century, gold digging from the mine unearthed in 1825 was Aruba's major economic activity. In the early 20th Century, the establishment of huge oil refineries triggered an immense migration of skilled workers coming down mostly from the U.S. and who were making big bucks. This situation led to social layers that pitted Aruba against Curaçao, the colony's capital.In the second decade of the past century, the economic basis of the island began to undergo a sea change. The reason: oil giant Standard Oil Co. decided to build a refinery in San Nicolas, in southern Aruba. At that time, that happened to be the world's biggest refinery ever built, and it was intended to refine oil pumped and ferried from Maracaibo. The refinery soon became Aruba's major income source and teamed up with a similar facility in Curaçao, it was the engine of the island's economy.
Transportation: There're no railroads in Aruba. Cabs are the main means of communication. There are several car rental agencies and limousine service. Cars and bikes can also be leased or rented. There are airports and ports, thus air and maritime transportation is guaranteed.Communications:Aruba's telecommunications service is provided with by SETAR (Aruba's Telecommunications Service), an enterprise outfitted with cutting-edge technology to assure both local and international calls (direct dialing, people-to-people, or via operator). It also counts on telex, telegram and e-mail services.
