Editing Aruba (section)

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Aruba}}{{See also|Transport in Aruba}}

The economy is dominated by four main industries: tourism, aloe export, [[Oil refinery|petroleum refining]], and offshore banking.<ref name="autogenerated2"/><ref name="Britannica"/> Aruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region. The GDP per capita (PPP) was estimated to be $37,500 in 2017.<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Aruba|access-date=12 September 2019 }}</ref> Its main trading partners are Colombia, the United States, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.

The agriculture and manufacturing sectors are fairly minimal. [[Gold mining]] was important in the 19th century.<ref name="Britannica"/> Aloe was introduced in 1840 but did not become a big export until 1890. Cornelius Eman founded Aruba Aloe Balm, and over time the industry became very important to the economy. At one point, two-thirds of the island was covered in aloe vera fields, and Aruba became the largest exporter of aloe in the world. The industry continues today, though on a smaller scale.

Access to [[biocapacity]] is much lower than world average. In 2016, Aruba had 0.57 global hectares<ref name=footprintdata>{{cite web|url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=22&type=BCpc,EFCpc|title=Country Trends|publisher=Global Footprint Network|access-date= 4 June 2020}}</ref> of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=MariaSerena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=FatimeZahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel
|first11=Mathis|year=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012-2018|journal=Resources|language=en|volume=7|issue=3|pages=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Resou...7...58L }}</ref> In 2016, Aruba used 6.5 global hectares of biocapacity per person—their [[ecological footprint]] of consumption. This means they use almost 12 times the biocapacity that Aruba contains. This is the extent of Aruba's biocapacity deficit.<ref name=footprintdata/>

The official exchange rate of the [[Aruban florin]] is pegged to the US dollar at Afl 1.80 to US$1.00.<ref name="Britannica"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gocuco.com/convert/usd-to-awg |title=Convert Dollars to Aruba Florin &#124; USD to AWG Currency Converter |publisher=Gocuco update exchange rates online }}</ref><!--note that currency fluctuates slightly because of the necessity of forcing the florin to the dollar by buying or selling florins or dollars--> This fact, and the majority of tourists being US, means businesses of hotel and resort districts prefer to bank and trade with the consumer in US dollars. Aruba is a prosperous country. Unemployment is low (although the government has not published statistics since 2013) and per capita income is one of the highest in the Caribbean (approximately $24,087). At the end of 2018, the labor force participation rate was 56.6% for women.

Until the mid-1980s, the main industry was oil refining; the refinery was shut down, and the economy shifted towards tourism. The refinery has been closed and restarted repeatedly during the last decades. In recent years a letter of intent was signed with CITGO (the US subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA) to explore the possibility of reopening the refinery again.

Until 2009, the Netherlands granted development aid to Aruba. This aid was mainly for law enforcement, education, administrative development, health care and sustainable economic development. This aid was discontinued at Aruba's request in 2009. Since 2015, however, a form of financial supervision has been reintroduced because debt has risen sharply to over 80% of GDP. Aruba has two free trade zones ([[Barcadera]] and Bushiri), where import and export and the movement of services are tax-free.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.freezonearuba.com/aruba-free-zone/barcadera-free-zone/ |title=Barcadera Free Zone|website=Free Zone Aruba|date=22 January 2014|access-date=1 May 2021}}</ref>[[File:RIU Palace Antillas - Aruba.jpg|thumb|A tourist resort on the island|left]]

===Tourism===
Aruba has a large and well-developed tourism industry, receiving 1,082,000 tourists who stayed overnight in its territory in 2018. About 75% of the gross national product is earned through tourism and related activities.<ref name="CIA">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Aruba|access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> Most tourists are from North America, with a market-share of 73.3%, followed by Latin America with 15.2% and Europe with 8.3%.<ref name="ATA">{{cite news|url=https://antilliaansdagblad.com/aruba/19438-toerisme-aruba-naar-recordhoogte|title=Toerisme Aruba naar recordhoogte|publisher=Antilliaans Dagblad|date=5 May 2019|access-date=24 May 2019|language=nl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506090901/https://antilliaansdagblad.com/aruba/19438-toerisme-aruba-naar-recordhoogte|archive-date=6 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, there were 40,231 visitors from the [[Netherlands]].

For private aircraft passengers bound for the United States, the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]], [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] has a full pre-clearance facility since 1 February 2001 when [[Queen Beatrix International Airport|Queen Beatrix Airport]] expanded. Since 2008, Aruba has been the only island to have this service for private flights.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://highend-traveller.com/aruba/|title=Aruba|date=31 May 2016|work=HighEnd-traveller.com|access-date=2017-12-08|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208174753/https://highend-traveller.com/aruba/|archive-date=8 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>