Aruba

Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Aruban florin (ISO code: AWG)
* Central bank discount rate: 5% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 11.23% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $781 million (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $890.3 million (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Aruba: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	1 723	1 859	1 899	1 911	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Aruba: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Aruba: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Aruba: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Aruba on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Aruba
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries