ARUBA

Aruba is no longer purely a touristic destination. With the development of the infrastructure, various projects to enhance the business aspect of Aruba and the investor-friendly environment, Aruba is the perfect destination to start expanding your horizons. Aruba offers the perfect strategic location to channel your business into the Caribbean, Latin America, or Europe.

Geography and Weather
Aruba is located at approximately 15 miles, or 24 kilometers from South America and entails an area of 70 square miles, or 180 square kilometers. Aruba’s weather is very stable year-round, with rainfall of less than 20 inches per year and an average temperature of 82oF, or 28oC. Aruba is located outside of the hurricane belt.

Population and Language
Aruba’s diverse population of approximately 102,000 inhabitants offers one of Aruba’s main assets, which is its friendly and highly service-oriented people, of which most speak four languages. The official languages are Dutch and Papiamento, but English and Spanish are widely spoken as well. Education levels are among the highest in the Caribbean and are subject to the Dutch education standards.

Currency
The local currency is the Aruban Florin, denoted officially by the letters AWG. but Afl. is also widely used. The Florin is pegged to the US dollar at an exchange rate of AWG. 1.79 for USD 1. However, the US Dollar is widely accepted on the island.

Government Structure
Aruba gained its “Status Aparte” in 1986, which means that it functions as an independent entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The governmental system is based on western democratic principles with the Queen-appointed Governor as the sovereign’s representative on Aruba, the Prime Minister and his Ministers, and a 21-member Parliament, who are chosen by votes for a term of four years.

Connectivity
Aruba is highly connected through daily international flights to major cities in the USA, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America. In addition, Aruba offers pre-clearance to passengers traveling to the USA, and is currently working on adding pre-clearance to Europe. The ease of travel from and to Aruba, is one of the many reasons Aruba receives over 1.4 million visitors per year. The Aruba port is in the process of being expanded and completely modernized.