Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Aruba instead of Panama, you would:

Economy

make 15.4% more money

Panama has a GDP per capita of $35,800 as of 2023, while in Aruba, the GDP per capita is $41,300 as of 2022.

be 14.9% more likely to be unemployed

In Panama, 6.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Aruba, that number is 7.7% as of 2016.

pay a 2.4 times higher top tax rate

Panama has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Aruba, the top tax rate is 59.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 26.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Panama, approximately 16.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Aruba, on the other hand, 12.1 children do as of 2022.

have 33.3% fewer children

In Panama, there are approximately 17.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Aruba, there are 11.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 42.6% more likely to have internet access

In Panama, approximately 68.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Aruba, about 97.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 59.0% more on education

Panama spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Aruba spends 6.2% of total GDP on education as of 2016.

Geography

see 97.2% less coastline

Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Aruba, that number is 68 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, General Directorate of Revenues, Panama, Ministerio di Finansas, Comunicacion, Utilidad y Energia.

Aruba: At a glance

Aruba is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 180 sq km. 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.
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How big is Aruba compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.

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