tial expansion of other activities.
Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985
level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in
1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has
further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1%
unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies
despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $21,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 3.5% (1996)

Labor force: NA
by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1996)

Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1994)

Budget:
revenues: $145 million
expenditures : $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42
million (1988)

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: NA kW

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: aloes; livestock; fishing

Exports:
total value: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
partners: US 64%, EU

Imports:
total value: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products,
crude oil for refining and reexport
partners: US 8%, EU

Debt - external: $669 million (December 1995)

Economic aid: the Netherlands provided a 1996 aid package of $224
million to Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, and Suriname

Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Aruba:Communications

Telephones: 22,922 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
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 4, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)

@Aruba:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: NA km
paved : NA km
unpaved: NA km
note : most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large
tracts of the interior

Ports and ha