The Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs, and Primary Sector, Mr. Geoffrey Wever, in cooperation with the Minister of Social Affairs, Drs. Melvin Wyatt-Ras, and Prime Minister Mr. Mike Eman, has officially initiated the work to determine a national definition of poverty (“poverty line”) in Aruba and to develop a system to measure purchasing power (“purchasing power measurement”). This project is being executed under the leadership of Minister Wever, as the minister in charge of the Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba (CBS).
This initiative marks a historic moment for Aruba, demonstrating a shared and continuous vision for the benefit of Aruba’s residents. During Minister Geoffrey Wever’s first term as minister, he focused on the need for a national definition of what constitutes poverty in Aruba and began the process toward this goal. Within Parliament, the topic of a poverty line was brought forward, emphasizing that the minimum subsistence level (bestaansminimum) should not be confused with a poverty line. In 2024, at the request of Minister Geoffrey Wever, the Population and Development Commission—formed at that time by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Department of Social Affairs (DAS) as permanent members—provided advice on this topic to Minister Wever (as the minister responsible for CBS) and to Minister Rocco Tjong (as the minister then responsible for social affairs), and it was decided to continue the process to reach a national definition of poverty in Aruba.
In this context, Minister Geoffrey Wever approached the Netherlands, through the Country Package (Landspakket) theme of Economy, to explore the possibility of making this project part of the Country Package in order to strengthen the development and periodic monitoring of Aruba’s socio-economic policy. The Netherlands was willing to cooperate. At the request of Minister Geoffrey Wever, the Council of Ministers agreed to add this project to the Country Package theme of Economy. In 2025, the work to draft the project plan (plan van aanpak) titled ‘The determination of the poverty line and purchasing power measurement for Aruba’ took place, carried out by professionals from both Aruba and the Netherlands. At the end of 2025, Minister Geoffrey Wever presented this action plan to the Council of Ministers of the AVP-FUTURO Cabinet, which approved the project. Following this, Minister Geoffrey Wever officially submitted the plan to the Netherlands. Now, with this kick-off meeting, the project officially starts and the work begins. The Netherlands has made USD 340,000 available for this project, and a technical expert from the Central Bureau of Statistics Netherlands (CBS) will assist with the project.
The project is of paramount importance for the development and monitoring of socio-economic policy. During the project, the primary question will be answered: What is poverty in Aruba? To answer this, the concept of poverty must be defined, and a methodology must be developed to measure the prevalence of poverty in Aruba periodically, taking into account, among other things, the purchasing power and the development of purchasing power for individuals and households. With this project, it will be possible to create policies more focused on the most vulnerable groups in our community by providing objective and concrete information that is currently unavailable.
During the process, work will be done alongside various local stakeholders to incorporate a relevant local context into the national definition of poverty. This collaborative approach aims to build broad support and to take into account relevant data from our society for the final definition. As part of the technical cooperation for the project, an expert from CBS Netherlands recently arrived in Aruba and will be present for a period of one year to assist with the project’s implementation.
The project consists of three main components:
Determine the definition of poverty in Aruba.
Develop a methodology to measure poverty and purchasing power.
Structurally anchor the calculation of poverty within the Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba.
The project is anticipated to be finalized in 2027. Following this, Aruba will, for the first time, possess a structural system to measure poverty and monitor developments in purchasing power.
“The priority of the economic policy of the AVP-FUTURO Cabinet is to guarantee economic development with the participation of everyone. When we know in an official, structural, and reliable way who is most vulnerable and how purchasing power is evolving, we as a government can implement policies that are more direct and effective, based on real facts and data,” said Minister Geoffrey Wever. “This gives the government a better overview and more effective tools to combat poverty in Aruba. Since 2024, we have implemented the ‘purchasing power model’ developed by the Economic Bureau Amsterdam (EBA), which is used to help design and execute policies that account for or mitigate the impact of policy on purchasing power. With the definition of poverty in Aruba and a structural system to measure poverty and purchasing power, the Government of Aruba will have more tools that contribute to good governance.”
Minister Wever thanks his colleague Minister Wyatt-Ras, Prime Minister Eman, the Council of Ministers, and all national and international stakeholders and partners for the broad cooperation surrounding this important topic. He wishes the Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba, the Department of Social Affairs Aruba, the Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce, and Industry Aruba, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Central Bureau of Statistics Netherlands, and all stakeholders much success with this historic project to determine a poverty line, thereby establishing a concrete foundation for socio-economic policy that contributes to inclusive economic development for all residents of Aruba.