Economy - overview:
Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the
backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with
more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The
agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for
about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 54%.
Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's
landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely
unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic
policies. Factional fighting between the government and its
opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth
likely to be no more than 1.3% in 2003. Distribution of income is
extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international
community can only partially meet humanitarian needs.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.296 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry: 20%
services: 25% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
61.3 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
NA
Unemployment rate:
8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries:
diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of
bicycles and motorcycles
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2002)
Electricity - production:
106 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.8%
hydro: 80.2%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
98.63 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn,
bananas; timber
Exports:
$134 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco
Exports - partners:
Belgium 66.8%, Spain 6.4%, Kazakhstan 4% (2002)
Imports:
$102 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical
equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
France 30%, US 5.2%, Cameroon 4.5%, Germany 4.3% (2002)
Debt - external:
$881.4 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France
(2000 est.)
Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code:
XAF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99
(2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year