RICa: Aruba ranks fifth among Caribbean's most resilient economies

ORANJESTAD – Aruba has been ranked as the fifth most economically resilient country in the Caribbean, according to the newly released Resilience Index Caribbean (RICa), which measures how well Caribbean economies can withstand and recover from external shocks.

Only Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago scored higher than Aruba. Curaçao ranked sixth, while St. Maarten placed 16th, making it one of the region's more vulnerable economies.

The report credits Aruba's strong performance to its rule of law, its location outside the hurricane belt, high GDP per capita, and stable inflation.

However, Aruba remains vulnerable because of its heavy dependence on tourism and imports, as well as its relatively small primary sector.

Compared with Curaçao, Aruba performs better economically thanks to its stronger macroeconomic position and higher GDP per capita. The report concludes that Aruba's biggest opportunities for improvement lie in increasing labor force participation and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.