China

In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy

from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy

to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within

a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic

influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has

been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of

household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the

old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and

plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale

enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the

economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has

been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power

parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the second-largest

economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the

country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major

gains especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan,

and in Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of

both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has

experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results

of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing

income disparities and rising unemployment). China thus has

periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at

intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs

growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned

enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b)

reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the

large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from

competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full

wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are

adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through

part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central

policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's

population control program, which is essential to maintaining

long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to

growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air

pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table

especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because

of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify

efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure -

such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and

through rural tax reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization

helps strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at

the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of

strong political controls and growing market influences. China has

benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign

investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic

growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw materials will

hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004.

Christmas Island

Phosphate mining had been the only significant

economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government

closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of

the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993. The casino

closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support

the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island,

projected to begin operations in mid-2004

Clipperton Island

Although 115 species of fish have been identified

in the territorial waters of Clipperton Island, the only economic

activity is tuna fishing.

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are

the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to

the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must

be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry.

Colombia

Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign

demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed

conflict, but seems poised for recovery. Other economic problems

facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to

reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil

and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to

offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices

are depressed. On the positive side, several international financial

institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE,

which includes measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit

below 2.5% of GDP in 2004. The government's economic policy and

democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of

confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector,

and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America.

Comoros

One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of

three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and

rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low

educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence

level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy

dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture,

including fishing, hunting, and forestry, contributes 40% to GDP,

employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports.

The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the

main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government -

which is hampered by internal political disputes - is struggling to

upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial

and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify

exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population

growth rate. Increased foreign support is essential if the goal of

4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans

abroad help supplement GDP.

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The economy of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth

- has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began

in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and

government revenue, has increased external debt, and has resulted in

the deaths from war, famine, and disease of perhaps 3.5 million

people. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to

uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of

infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. The war has

intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal

framework, corruption, inflation, and lack of openness in government

economic policy and financial operations. Conditions improved in

late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading

foreign troops. Several IMF and World Bank missions have met with

the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and

President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic

activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability, aided by

international donors, improved in 2003. New mining contracts have

been approved, which - combined with high mineral and metal prices -

could improve Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth.

Congo, Republic of the

The economy is a mixture of village

agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on

oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget

problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the

mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government

revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil

revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development

projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest

rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion

of its oil earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The 12

January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in

inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic

reform efforts continued with the support of international

organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform

program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis

SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October

1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic

reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with

international financial institutions. However, economic progress was

badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed

conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget

deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal

peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery

and reducing poverty.

Cook Islands

Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook

Islands' economic development is hindered by the isolation of the

country from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets,

lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural

disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture provides the

economic base with major exports made up of copra and citrus fruit.

Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing,

and handicrafts. Trade deficits are offset by remittances from

emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In

the 1980s and 1990s, the country lived beyond its means, maintaining

a bloated public service and accumulating a large foreign debt.

Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the

strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism,

and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and

growth.

Coral Sea Islands

no economic activity

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism,

agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially

reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has

been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the

country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism

continues to bring in foreign exchange. Low prices for coffee and

bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues

to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt. The

reduction of inflation remains a difficult problem because of rises

in the price of imports, labor market rigidities, and fiscal

deficits. Costa Rica recently concluded negotiations to participate

in the US - Central American Free Trade Agreement, which, if

ratified by the Costa Rican Legislature, would result in economic

reforms and an improved investment climate.

Cote d'Ivoire

Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers

and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently,

the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international

prices for these products and to weather conditions. Despite

government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still heavily

dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage

roughly 68% of the population. After several years of lagging

performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to

the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa

and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as

pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization,

offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing

and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. Moreover,

government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in

growth to 5% annually during 1996-99. Growth was negative in 2000-03

because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international

donors, continued low prices of key exports, and severe civil war.

Political uncertainty will continue to cloud the economic outlook in

2004, but rising world prices for cocoa will help both the current

account and the government balances.

Croatia

Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of

Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized

area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav

average. The economy emerged from a mild recession in 2000 with

tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way.

Unemployment remains high, at over 13 percent, with structural

factors slowing its decline. While macroeconomic stabilization has

largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep

resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from

politicians. Growth, while impressively over 4% for the last several

years, has been achieved through high fiscal and current account

deficits. The government is gradually reducing a heavy back log of

civil cases, many involving land tenure. The EU accession process

should accelerate fiscal and structural reform.

Cuba

The government continues to balance the need for economic

loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has

undertaken limited reforms to increase enterprise efficiency and

alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. A

major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between relatively

efficient export enclaves and inefficient domestic sectors. The

average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than

before the depression of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of

Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government reluctantly

allows a large dollar market sector, fueled by tourism and

remittances from Cubans abroad.

Cyprus

The Greek Cypriot economy is prosperous but highly

susceptible to external shocks. Erratic growth rates over the past

decade reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourist

arrivals, caused by political instability in the region and

fluctuations in economic conditions in Western Europe. Economic

policy is focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the EU.

EU-driven tax reforms in 2003 have introduced fiscal imbalances,

which, coupled with a sluggish tourism sector, have resulted in

growing fiscal deficits. As in the Turkish sector, water shortages

are a perennial problem; a few desalination plants are now on-line.

After 10 years of drought, the country received substantial rainfall

from 2001-03, alleviating immediate concerns. The Turkish Cypriot

economy has roughly one-third of the per capita GDP of the south.

Because it is recognized only by Turkey, it has had much difficulty

arranging foreign financing and investment. It remains heavily

dependent on agriculture and government service, which together

employ about half of the work force. To compensate for the economy's

weakness, Turkey provides grants and loans to support economic

development. Ankara provided $200 million in 2002 and pledged $450

million for the 2003-05 period. Future events throughout the island

will be highly influenced by the outcome of negotiations on the

UN-sponsored agreement to unite the Greek and Turkish areas.

Czech Republic

One of the most stable and prosperous of the

post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from

recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-03 was supported by exports

to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a near doubling of foreign

direct investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important

role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the

availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. High current

account deficits - averaging around 5% of GDP in the last several

years - could be a persistent problem. Inflation is under control.

The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in

preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and

direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking,

telecommunications, and energy privatization will encourage

additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among

large enterprises and banks, and improvements in the financial

sector, should strengthen output growth. Nonetheless, revival in the

European economies remains essential to stepped-up growth.

Denmark

This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech

agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry,

extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards,

a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is

a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance

of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the

bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The

government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the

economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase

(a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary

Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members

in the euro; even so, the Danish Krone remains pegged to the euro.

Given the sluggish state of the European economy, growth in 2003 was

a mere 0.3%.

Dhekelia

Economic activity is limited to providing services to the

military and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and

manufactured goods must be imported.

Djibouti

The economy is based on service activities connected with

the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in

northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital

city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall

limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must

be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for

the region and an international transshipment and refueling center.

It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is,

therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support

its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An

unemployment rate of 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation

is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to

the US dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over

the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high

population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced

with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen

in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to

meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors.

Dominica

The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily

bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and

international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped

precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP.

Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought to promote

Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. Development of the tourism

industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged

coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international

airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the

economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls,

privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to

address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order

to diversify the island's production base the government is

attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning

to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean

representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in

1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global

economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed

primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent

years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's

largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The

country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of

the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the

richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned

negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and

limited growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export

revenues. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan was slowed due to

government repurchase of electrical power plants.

East Timor

In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of

East Timor was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence

militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. Over the next three

years, however, a massive international program, manned by 5,000

peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to

substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By

mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned. Growth

was held back in 2003 by extensive drought and the gradual winding

down of the international presence. The country faces great

challenges in continuing the rebuilding of infrastructure,

strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs

for young people entering the workforce. One promising long-term

project is the planned development of oil and gas resources in

nearby waters, but the government faces a substantial financing gap

over the next several years before these revenues start flowing into

state coffers.

Ecuador

Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have

accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of

public sector revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations

in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In

the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with

natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices

driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP

contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly.

The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its

external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70%

in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government

announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted

MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta

failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took

over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of

structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption

of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the

economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years

that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ, who took

office in January 2003, Ecuador benefited from higher world

petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on

fiscal reforms and reforms of state-owned enterprises necessary to

reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and

financial crises.

Egypt

Lack of substantial progress on economic reform since the mid

1990s has limited foreign direct investment in Egypt and kept annual

GDP growth in the range of 2-3 percent in 2001-03. Egyptian

officials in late 2003 and early 2004 proposed new privatization and

customs reform measures, but the government is likely to pursue

these initiatives cautiously and gradually to avoid a public

backlash over potential inflation or layoffs associated with the

reforms. Monetary pressures on an overvalued Egyptian pound led the

government to float the currency in January 2003, leading to a sharp

drop in its value and consequent inflationary pressure. The

existence of a black market for hard currency is evidence that the

government continues to influence the official exchange rate offered

in banks. In September 2003, Egyptian officials increased subsidies

on basic foodstuffs, helping to calm a frustrated public but

widening an already deep budget deficit. Egypt's balance-of-payments

position was not hurt by the war in Iraq in 2003, as tourism and

Suez Canal revenues fared well. The development of an export market

for natural gas is a bright spot for future growth prospects, but

improvement in the capital-intensive hydrocarbons sector does little

to reduce Egypt's persistent unemployment.

El Salvador

With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency, El

Salvador has lost control over monetary policy and must concentrate

on maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy. GDP per capita is

roughly only half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and the

distribution of income is highly unequal. The trade deficit has been

offset by annual remittances of almost $2 billion from Salvadorans

living abroad and external aid. The government is striving to open

new export markets, encourage foreign investment, modernize the tax

and healthcare systems, and stimulate the sluggish economy.

Equatorial Guinea

The discovery and exploitation of large oil

reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent

years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of

GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence

Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency

earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes

has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government

has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into

agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank

and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and

mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because

of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying

to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank

and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government

officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources

include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold.

Growth will remain strong in 2004, led by oil.

Eritrea

Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has

faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country.

Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely

based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population

involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in

1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero

in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into

northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and

loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000

homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most

productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even

during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure,

asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged

roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has

maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the

military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's

development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization

of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well

below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future

depends upon its ability to master social problems such as

illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to

private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster

economic growth.

Estonia

Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization, is

steadily moving toward a modern market economy with increasing ties

to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The

economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications

sectors. Estonia has been invited to join the European Union and

will do so in May 2004. The economy is greatly influenced by

developments in Finland, Sweden, Russia, and Germany, four major

trading partners. The high current account deficit remains a

concern. However, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million

in 2003.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on

agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80%

of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent

drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the

Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but

historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to

supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent

drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production.

In November 2001 Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly

Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Under Ethiopia's land

tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term

leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the

industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as

collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to

a 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Return to normal weather patterns late

in 2003 should help agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004. The

government estimates that annual growth of 7% is needed to reduce

poverty.

Europa Island

no economic activity

European Union

Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower

trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence

of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster

Europe's trade position and its political and economic power.

Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000

to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European

Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common

policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have

flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their

national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the

EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in

general, less advanced technologically and economically than the

existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated

organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1

January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate;

the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its

fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree.

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

The economy was formerly based on

agriculture, mainly sheep farming, but today fishing contributes the

bulk of economic activity. In 1987 the government began selling

fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands

exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40

million per year, which goes to support the island's health,

education, and welfare system. Squid accounts for 75% of the fish

taken. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish

winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the

UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. The islands are now

self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey

announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in

1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable

of producing 500,000 barrels per day; to date no exploitable site

has been identified. An agreement between Argentina and the UK in

1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would

dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves.

Tourism, especially eco-tourism, is increasing rapidly, with about

30,000 visitors in 2001. Another large source of income is interest

paid on money the government has in the bank. The British military

presence also provides a sizeable economic boost.

Faroe Islands

The Faroese economy has had a strong performance since

1994, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and high and

stable export prices. Unemployment is falling and there are signs of

labor shortages in several sectors. The positive economic

development has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce

increasing budget surpluses, which in turn help to reduce the large

public debt, most of it owed to Denmark. However, the total

dependence on fishing makes the Faroese economy extremely

vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what

is a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Oil finds close

to the Faroese area give hope for deposits in the immediate Faroese

area, which may eventually lay the basis for a more diversified

economy and thus lessen dependence on Danish economic assistance.

Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (15% of GDP) from Denmark, the

Faroese have a standard of living not far below the Danes and other

Scandinavians.

Fiji

Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one

of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still

with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and a growing tourist

industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major

sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of

industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment,

uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to

manage its budget. Yet short-run economic prospects are good,

provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and

Indo-Fijians.

Finland

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market

economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France,

Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing -

principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and

electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling

one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland

depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for

manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development

is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products.

Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary

occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration

with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 12 countries joining

the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the

economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was

held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2004 provided

the world economy suffers no further blows.

France

France is in the midst of transition, from a well-to-do

modern economy that has featured extensive government ownership and

intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The

Socialist-led government partially or fully privatized many large

companies, banks, and insurers, but the government retains

controlling stakes in several leading firms, including Air France,

France Telecom, Renault, and Thales, and is dominant in some

sectors, particularly power, public transport, and defense

industries. The telecommunications sector is gradually being opened

to competition. France's leaders remain committed to a capitalism in

which they maintain social equity by means of laws, tax policies,

and social spending that reduce income disparity and the impact of

free markets on public health and welfare. The current government

has lowered income taxes and introduced measures to boost

employment. The government is focusing on the problems of the high

cost of labor and labor market inflexibility resulting from the

35-hour workweek and restrictions on lay-offs. The government is

also pushing for pension reforms and simplification of

administrative procedures. The tax burden remains one of the highest

in Europe (43.8% of GDP in 2003). The current economic slowdown and

inflexible budget items have pushed the 2003 deficit to 4% of GDP,

above the EU's 3% debt limit. Business investment remains listless

because of low rates of capital utilization, sluggish demand, high

debt, and the steep cost of capital.

French Guiana

The economy is tied closely to the larger French

economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space

center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and

forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and

woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical

hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill

industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is

limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely

concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is

heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a

serious problem, particularly among younger workers.

French Polynesia

Since 1962, when France stationed military

personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a

subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion

of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the

tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996,

the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism

accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard

currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and

deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector

primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits

substantially from development agreements with France aimed

principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social

services.

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Economic activity is limited to

servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and

French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles

Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.

Gabon

Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most

nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in

extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large

proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber

and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s.

The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face

fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports.

Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management

hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50%

on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%;

the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby

arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility

(EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by

credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate

progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided

additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF

targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized

the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing

from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for

privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices

in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon

from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed

a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt.

A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in

December 2001. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world

economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.

Gambia, The

The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural

resources and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the

population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood.

Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of

peanuts, fish, and hides. Reexport trade normally constitutes a

major segment of economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed

preshipment inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi

(currency) have drawn some of the reexport trade away from The

Gambia. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm

Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts; the

following two marketing seasons have seen substantially lower prices

and sales. A decline in tourism in 2000 has also held back growth.

Unemployment and underemployment rates are extremely high. Shortrun

economic progress remains highly dependent on sustained bilateral

and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management

as forwarded by IMF technical help and advice, and on expected

growth in the construction sector.

Gaza Strip

Economic output in the Gaza Strip - under the

responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo

Agreement of May 1994 - declined by about one-third between 1992 and

1996. The downturn was largely the result of Israeli closure

policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response

to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously

established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel

and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative

social effect of this downturn was the emergence of high

unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was

generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use

of comprehensive closures decreased during the next few years and,

in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of

closures and other security procedures on the movement of

Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost

three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip;

real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in

the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, triggering

tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe

disruption of trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more

severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority

areas resulted in the destruction of capital plant and

administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp

drop in GDP. Including West Bank, the UN estimates that more than

100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel,

in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their

jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the

Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion

in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete

collapse of the economy and allowed Finance Minister Salam FAYYAD to

implement several financial and economic reforms. Budgetary support,

however, was not as forthcoming in 2003.

Georgia

Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation

of agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and

grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small

industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages,

metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of

its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only

sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe

damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with

the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic

gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing

inflation. However, the Georgian Government suffers from limited

resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia

also suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi

distribution network in 1998, but collection rates are low, making

the venture unprofitable. The country is pinning its hopes for

long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and

trade. The start of construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil

pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline will bring

much-needed investment and job opportunities.

Germany

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy- the

fifth largest national economy in the world - has become one of the

slowest growing economies in the entire euro zone, and a quick

turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in

2001-03 fell short of 1%. The modernization and integration of the

eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process,

with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70

billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high

unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level

exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the

labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers

and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made

unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing

capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany

to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration

and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are

further addressed. The government is also starting long-needed

structural reforms designed to revitalize the country's economy. In

the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise

in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.

Ghana

Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice

the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even

so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and

technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major

sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to

revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 35% of

GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders.

Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country

(HIPC) program in 2002. Policy priorities include tighter monetary

and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of

social services. Receipts from the gold sector should help sustain

GDP growth in 2004. Inflation should ease, but remain a major

internal problem.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade,

offshore banking, and its position as an international conference

center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and

now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in

1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in

1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also

generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and

tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts

for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major

structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but

changes in government spending still have a major impact on the

level of employment.

Glorioso Islands

no economic activity

Greece

Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector

accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the

leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants

make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs.

Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of

annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by about 4.0% for the past two

years, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure

upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Despite strong growth,

Greece has failed to meet the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget

deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since 2000; public debt, inflation,

and unemployment are also above the eurozone average. Further

restructuring of the economy include privatizing several state

enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing

bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Greenland

The economy remains critically dependent on exports of

fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which

supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector,

including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays

the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting

hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take

several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only

sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited

due to a short season and high costs.

Grenada

Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign

exchange, especially since the construction of an international

airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and

manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore

financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national

output.

Guadeloupe

The Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism,

light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large

subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists

from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the

islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by

other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export

earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops

are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still

dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry

features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel

are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young.

Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.

Guam

The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the

export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and

procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20

years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a

construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones.

More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had

recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese

slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists.

Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem

of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of

military downsizing.

Guatemala

Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central

American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of

Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for

about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the

labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The

1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war,

removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, but widespread

political violence and corruption scandals continue to dampen

investor confidence. The distribution of income remains highly

unequal, with perhaps 75% of the population below the poverty line.

Ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues,

negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading

both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug

trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit.

Guernsey

Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance,

etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel

Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly

tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death

duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic

integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under

which Guernsey operates.

Guinea

Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural

resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country

possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the

second-largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for

about 75% of exports in 1999. Long-run improvements in government

fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if

the country is to move out of poverty. Fighting along the Sierra

Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have

caused major economic disruptions, including a loss in investor

confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff,

while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local

markets. Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World

Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth should strengthen in

2004, however, because of a slowly improving security situation and

increased investor confidence.

Guinea-Bissau

One of the 10 poorest countries in the world,

Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops

have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks

sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood

along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice

is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting

between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta

destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread

damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in

GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war,

trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part

of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF

sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development

of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy.

Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and

other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However,

unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue

in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the

most extreme in the world. The government and international donors

continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a

lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have

resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004.

Guyana

The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in

2001-02, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors,

a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more

realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued

support of international organizations. Growth then slowed in 2003.

Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient

infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt

against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite

mining sector should benefit in the near term by restructuring and

partial privatization.

Haiti

In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the

population lives in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians

depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of

small-scale subsistence farming. Following legislative elections in

May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors -

including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The

economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001 and an estimated 0.9% in

2002. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500

million at the start of 2003. Haiti also suffers from rampant

inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. The

resumption of aid flows from all donors will alleviate but not end

the nation's bitter economic problems. Extensive civil strife in

early 2004, marked by the flight of President ARISTIDE, further

impoverished Haiti.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

No indigenous economic activity,

but the Australian Government allows limited fishing around the

islands.

Holy See (Vatican City)

This unique, noncommercial economy is

supported financially by an annual contribution from Roman Catholic

dioceses throughout the world, as well as by special collections

(known as Peter's Pence); the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals,

and tourist mementos; fees for admission to museums; and the sale of

publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a

sizable portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay

workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city

of Rome.

Honduras

Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western

Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income

and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade privileges

under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief

under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While

the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it has failed

to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and

telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status

of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices,

particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on

international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw

materials must be imported. Imports and exports, including

reexports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong

reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive

trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong has been further

integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness

to the world economy has increased competitive pressure on Hong

Kong's service industries, and Hong Kong's re-export business from

China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP compares with the

level in the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth

averaged a strong 5% in 1989-1997, but Hong Kong suffered two

recessions in the past 6 years because of the Asian financial crisis

in 1998 and the global downturn of 2001-2002. The Severe Acute

Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak also battered Hong Kong's

economy, but a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's

easing of travel restrictions, a return of consumer confidence, and

a solid rise in exports resulted in the resumption of strong growth

in late 2003.

Howland Island

no economic activity

Hungary

Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to

a market economy, with a per capita income one-half that of the Big

Four European nations. Hungary continues to demonstrate strong

economic growth and joined the European Union in May 2004. The

private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of

and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative

foreign direct investment totaling more than $23 billion since 1989.

Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the second-highest

rating among all the Central European transition economies.

Inflation has declined substantially, from 14% in 1998 to 4.7% in

2003; unemployment has persisted around the 6% level. Germany is by

far Hungary's largest economic partner. Short-term issues include

the reduction of the public sector deficit and further increasing

the flexibility of the labor markets.

Iceland

Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically

capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including

generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even

distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources

(except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily

on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and

employs 12% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to

declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for

its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and

ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the budget and

current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing

inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying

the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government

remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders'

concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's

economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service

industries in the last decade, and new developments in software

production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place.

The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in

ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in

1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an

environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and

inflation dropped back from 5% to 2%.

India

India's economy encompasses traditional village farming,

modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries,

and a multitude of support services. Government controls have been

reduced on foreign trade and investment, and privatization of

domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted an

excellent average growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty by

about 10 percentage points. India is capitalizing on its large

numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to

become a major exporter of software services and software workers.

Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the

continuing public-sector budget deficit, running at approximately

60% of GDP.

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting

the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas.

It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum

products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its

fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries

for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia,

Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly

for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped

in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western

Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production

comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and

offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering

countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,

and Thailand.

Indonesia

Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces economic

development problems stemming from recent acts of terrorism, unequal

resource distribution among regions, endemic corruption, the lack of

reliable legal recourse in contract disputes, weaknesses in the

banking system, and a generally poor climate for foreign investment.

Indonesia withdrew from its IMF program at the end of 2003, but

issued a "White Paper" that commits the government to maintaining

fundamentally sound macroeconomic policies previously established

under IMF guidelines. Investors, however, continued to face a host

of on-the-ground microeconomic problems and an inadequate judicial

system. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up

the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong

global economic growth.

Iran

Iran's economy is marked by a bloated, inefficient state

sector, over reliance on the oil sector, and statist policies that

create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is

controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically

small-scale - workshops, farming, and services. President KHATAMI

has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President

RAFSANJANI, with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in

recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $22 billion in foreign

exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as

high unemployment and inflation. In December 2003 a major earthquake

devastated the city of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing more than

30,000 people.

Iraq

Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has

traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In

the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the

eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran

led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily,

and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic

losses from that war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities

ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction

of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Iraq's

seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic

sanctions, and damage from military action by an international

coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic

activity. Although government policies supporting large military and

internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters

of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's

oil-for-food program beginning in December 1996 helped improve

conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. Iraq was allowed to export

limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some

infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999, the UN Security

Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as

required to meet humanitarian needs. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was

largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil

prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while

medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per

capita output and living standards were still well below the

pre-1991 level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The

military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003

resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic

administrative structure, but with the loss of a comparatively small

amount of capital plant. The rebuilding of oil, electricity, and

other production is proceeding steadily at the start of 2004 with

foreign support and despite the continuation of severe internal

strife. A joint UN and World Bank report released in the fall of

2003 estimated that Iraq's key reconstruction needs through 2007

would cost $55 billion. In October 2003, international donors

pledged assistance worth more than $33 billion toward this

rebuilding effort.

Ireland

Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with

growth averaging a robust 8% in 1995-2002. The global slowdown,

especially in the information technology sector, pressed growth down

to 2.1% in 2003. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now

dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP

and about 80% of exports and employs 28% of the labor force.

Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's growth, the

economy has also benefited from a rise in consumer spending,

construction, and business investment. Per capita GDP is 10% above

that of the four big European economies and the second highest in

the sEU, behind Luxembourg. Over the past decade, the Irish

Government has implemented a series of national economic programs

designed to curb price and wage inflation, reduce government

spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign

investment. Ireland joined in launching the euro currency system in

January 1999 along with 10 other EU nations.

Israel

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with

substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude

oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited

natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural

and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports

substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in

other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology

equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the

leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account

deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad

and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt

is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and

military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties

in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and

fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small

declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy grew at 1% in 2003,

with improvements in tourism and foreign direct investment. In 2004,

rising business and consumer confidence - as well as higher demand

for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 2.7%.

Italy

Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the

same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This

capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial

north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed,

welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most

raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy

requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a

tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the

Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest

and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous

short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term

growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed

structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and

overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension

system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from

labor unions.

Jamaica

The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which

now account for 70% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of

its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina.

The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist

attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the

economy rebounded moderately in 2003, with one of the best tourist

seasons on record. But the economy faces serious long-term problems:

high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured,

sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade

deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the

result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The

ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a

bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Depressed

economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including

gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government

faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline

in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a

serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.

Jan Mayen

Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable natural

resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for

employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations on the

island.

Japan

Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery

of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1%

of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank

of second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after

the US and third-largest economy after the US and China. One notable

characteristic of the economy is the working together of

manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups

called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of

lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor

force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important

sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw

materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly

subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the

world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50%

of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains

one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly

15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic

growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5%

average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed

markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the

after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and

contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative

excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts

to revive economic growth have met with little success and were

further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the US, European,

and Asian economies. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more

than 150% of GDP, and the ageing of the population are two major

long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic

strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000

"working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform

the ailing banking system continues.

Jarvis Island

no economic activity

Jersey

The economy is based largely on international financial

services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes,

and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to

the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and

represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to

the UK and other EU countries. In 1996 the finance sector accounted

for about 60% of the island's output. Tourism, another mainstay of

the economy, accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the

government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with

the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the

traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy

requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food

needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax

haven.

Johnston Atoll

Economic activity is limited to providing services to

US military personnel and contractors located on the island. All

food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Jordan

Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of

water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and

unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH, since

assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic

reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. 'Amman in

the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced

careful monetary policy, and made substantial headway with

privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime

sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTrO (2000), a

free trade accord with the US (2000), and an association agreement

with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity

and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. The US-led war in

Iraq in 2003 dealt an economic blow to Jordan, which was dependent

on Iraq for discounted oil (worth $300-$600 million a year). Several

Gulf nations have provided temporary aid to compensate for the loss

of this oil; when this foreign aid expires, the Jordanian government

has pledged to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales

tax base. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to

reduce the budget deficit, broader investment incentives to promote

job-creating ventures, and the encouragement of tourism.

Juan de Nova Island

Up to 12,000 tons of guano are mined per year.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in

territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves

as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also

is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer.

Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and

processing of these natural resources and also on a growing

machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment,

tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The

breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for

Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a

short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual

decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government

program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in

a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. Kazakhstan

enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 - and a solid 9.5% in 2002 -

thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic

reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the

Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's

Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export

capacity. The country has embarked upon an industrial policy

designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the

oil sector, by developing light industry. Additionally, the policy

aims to reduce the influence of foreign investment and foreign

personnel; the government has engaged in several disputes with

foreign oil companies over the terms of production agreements, and

tensions continue.

Kenya

The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya

has been hampered by corruption, notably in the judicial system, and

by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained

low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural

Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain

reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000

compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and

reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in

2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through

the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed

to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of

strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and

low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth

lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor

confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the

elections. In the key 27 December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's

24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the

formidable economic problems facing the nation. In 2003, progress

was made in rooting out corruption, and encouraging donor support,

with GDP growth edging up to 1.7%.

Kingman Reef

no economic activity

Kiribati

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has

few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were

exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and

fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy

has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is

constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure,

and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more

than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of

development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives.

Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and

China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account

for more than $5 million each year.

Korea, North

North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned

and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions.

Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of

years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and

power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its

tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land,

collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages

of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries

have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but

the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and

deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats

up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In

2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and

general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food

aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise

following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of

2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and

unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed

restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading

to an expansion of market activity.

Korea, South

Since the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an

incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech

modern world economy. Four decades ago GDP per capita was comparable

with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its

GDP per capita is 18 times North Korea's and equal to the lesser

economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s

was achieved by a system of close government/business ties,

including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of

specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government

promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense

of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over

consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed

longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model,

including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an

undisciplined financial sector. Growth plunged to a negative 6.6% in

1998, then strongly recovered to 10.8% in 1999 and 9.2% in 2000.

Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global

economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed

corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer

spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 6.2%, despite

anemic global growth, followed by moderate 2.8% growth in 2003. In

2003 the National Assembly approved legislation reducing the six-day

work week to five days.

Kuwait

Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved

crude oil reserves of about 98 billion barrels - 10% of world

reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export

revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits

agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish,

it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water

must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with

foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the

country.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a poor, mountainous country with a

predominantly agricultural economy. Cotton, tobacco, wool, and meat

are the main agricultural products, although only tobacco and cotton

are exported in any quantity. Industrial exports include gold,

mercury, uranium, and natural gas and electricity. Kyrgyzstan has

been fairly progressive in carrying out market reforms, such as an

improved regulatory system and land reform. Kyrgyzstan was the first

CIS country to be accepted into the World Trade Organization. With

fits and starts, inflation has been lowered to an estimated 7% in

2001, 2.1% in 2002, and 4.0% in 2003. Much of the government's stock

in enterprises has been sold. Drops in production had been severe

after the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991, but by

mid-1995 production began to recover and exports began to increase.

Kyrgyzstan has distinguished itself by adopting relatively liberal

economic policies. The drop in output at the Kumtor gold mine

sparked a 0.5% decline in GDP in 2002, but GDP growth bounced back

to 6% in 2003. The government has made steady strides in controlling

its substantial fiscal deficit and aims to reduce the deficit to 4.4

percent of GDP in 2004. The government and the international

financial institutions have been engaged in a comprehensive

medium-term poverty reduction and economic growth strategy. Further

restructuring of domestic industry and success in attracting foreign

investment are keys to future growth.

Laos

The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official

Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging

private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely

low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 except

during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis

beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a

country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a

rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal

telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban

areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides

80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from

aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new

foreign investment in food processing and mining.

Latvia

Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian

financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget

stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU

countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. The

majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized,

although the state still holds sizable stakes in a few large

enterprises. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization

in February 1999. Preparing for EU membership continues as a top

foreign policy goal. The current account and internal government

deficits remain major concerns, but the government's efforts to

increase efficiency in revenue collection may lessen the budget

deficit.

Lebanon

The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic

infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended

Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub.

Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut,

begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government

facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound

banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers.

Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports,

and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange.

Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of

"Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program.

Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but

slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001,

1.5% in 2002, and 3% in 2003. During the 1990s, annual inflation

fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of

its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government

nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has

funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic

banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the

re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program

to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and

privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with

international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to

seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower

rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises

had not occurred by the end of 2003, massive receipts from donor

nations stabilized government finances in 2002-04.

Lesotho

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on

remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties

from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of

government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax

system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major

hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to

South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number

of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a

small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that

support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a

rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still

primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock,

although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme

inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback.

Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility

with the IMF.

Liberia

Civil war and misgovernment have destroyed much of Liberia's

economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many

businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with

them. Some have returned, many will not. Richly endowed with water,

mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture,

Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products -

primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign

owned, had been small in scope. The departure of the former

president, Charles TAYLOR, to Nigeria in August 2003, the

establishment of the all-inclusive National Transition Government of

Liberia (NTGL), and the arrival of a UN mission are all encouraging

signs that the political crisis is coming to an end. The restoration

of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy

depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic

policies, including the encouragement of foreign investment, and

generous support from donor countries.

Libya

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the

oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and

about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population

give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little

of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan

officials in the past three years have made progress on economic

reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country

into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN

sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in

December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of

mass destruction. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the

socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying

for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans

for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a

more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and

construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have

expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the

production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic

conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and

Libya imports about 75% of its food.

Liechtenstein

Despite its small size and limited natural resources,

Liechtenstein has developed into a prosperous, highly

industrialized, free-enterprise economy with a vital financial

service sector and living standards on a par with its large European

neighbors. The Liechtenstein economy is widely diversified with a

large number of small businesses. Low business taxes - the maximum

tax rate is 20% - and easy incorporation rules have induced many

holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal

offices in Liechtenstein, providing 30% of state revenues. The

country participates in a customs union with Switzerland and uses

the Swiss franc as its national currency. It imports more than 90%

of its energy requirements. Liechtenstein has been a member of the

European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between

the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the EU) since May

1995. The government is working to harmonize its economic policies

with those of an integrated Europe.

Lithuania

Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most

trade with Russia, has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian

financial crisis. Unemployment remains high, still 10.7% in 2003,

but is improving. Growing domestic consumption and increased

investment have furthered recovery. Trade has been increasingly

oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the

World Trade Organization and has moved ahead with plans to join the

EU. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly

in the energy sector, is nearing completion. Overall, more than 80%

of enterprises have been privatized. Foreign government and business

support have helped in the transition from the old command economy

to a market economy.

Luxembourg

This stable, high-income economy features solid growth,

low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector,

initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to

include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the

financial sector, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more

than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are

foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is

based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign

and trans-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force.

Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the

global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong

growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living.

Macau

Macau's well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open

in the world since its reversion to China in 1999. The territory's

net exports of goods and services account for roughly 41% of GDP

with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. Although the

territory was hit hard by the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the

global downturn in 2001, its economy grew 9.5% in 2002. A rapid rise

in the number of mainland visitors because of China's easing of

restrictions on travel drove the recovery. The budget also returned

to surplus in 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a

hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of

government revenue. The liberalization of Macao's gambling monopoly

contributes to GDP growth, as the three companies awarded gambling

licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion in the territory. Much

of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland as the

Multi-Fiber Agreement is phased out. The territory may have to rely

more on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. The

government estimated GDP growth at 4% in 2003 with the drop in large

measure due to concerns over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

(SARS), but private sector analysts think the figure may have been

higher because of the continuing boom in tourism.

Macedonia

At independence in September 1991, Macedonia was the least

developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the

total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of

Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated

advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence

of infrastructure, UN sanctions on Yugoslavia, one of its largest

markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the

country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth

until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However,

the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and

regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian

insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank 4.5% because of decreased

trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on

security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth barely recovered in

2002 to 0.9%, then rose to 2.8% in 2003. Unemployment at one-third

of the workforce remains the most critical economic problem. The

gray economy is estimated at around 40% of GDP. Politically, the

country is more stable than in 2002.

Madagascar

Having discarded past socialist economic policies,

Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led

policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy has placed

the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low

level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of

the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and

employing four-fifths of the population. Exports of apparel have

boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the

United States. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of

firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns.

President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy

following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in

GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be

the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years.

Malawi

Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed

countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90%

of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounted for

nearly 40% of GDP and 88% of export revenues in 2001. The economy

depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF,

the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi

was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

(HIPC) program. In November 2002 the World Bank approved a $50

million drought recovery package, which is to be used for famine

relief. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully

develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face

up to environmental problems, to deal with the rapidly growing

problem of HIV/AIDS, and to satisfy foreign donors that fiscal

discipline is being tightened. The performance of the tobacco sector

is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 50% of

exports.

Malaysia

Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from

1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an

emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven

by exports - particularly of electronics. As a result Malaysia was

hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the

information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001

grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a

substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion

mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in

2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003,

notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from

SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community.

Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a relatively small external

debt make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a crisis similar

to the one in 1997, but the economy remains vulnerable to a more

protracted slowdown in Japan and the US, top export destinations and

key sources of foreign investment. The Malaysian ringgit is pegged

to the dollar, and the Japanese central bank continues to intervene

and prop up the yen against the dollar.

Maldives

Tourism, Maldives' largest industry, accounts for 20% of

GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts.

Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and

tourism-related taxes. Fishing is a second leading sector. The

Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989

initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the

private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to

allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing

continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the

limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic

labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists

mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts,

accounts for about 18% of GDP. Maldivian authorities worry about the

impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying

country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level.

Mali

Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of

its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal

distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the

riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is

nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and

fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm

commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable

to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along

with gold. The government has continued its successful

implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program

that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign

investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50%

devaluation of the African franc in January 1994 have pushed up

economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2002. Worker

remittances and external trade routes have been jeopardized by

continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire.

Malta

Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic

location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about

20% of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has no

domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade,

manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism.

Malta is privatizing state-controlled firms and liberalizing markets

in order to prepare for membership in the European Union. The island

remains divided politically, however, over the question of joining

the EU. Continued sluggishness in the global economy is holding back

exports, tourism, and overall growth.

Man, Isle of

Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key

sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering

incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions

to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment

opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture

and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in

their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man

enjoys free access to EU markets.

Marshall Islands

US Government assistance is the mainstay of this

tiny island economy. Agricultural production is primarily

subsistence and is concentrated on small farms; the most important

commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry

is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist

industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than

10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added

income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far

exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association,

the US has provided more than $1 billion in aid since 1986.

Negotiations have continued for an extended agreement. Government

downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism

and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties, and

less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held

GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade.

Martinique

The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and

light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the

small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with

most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana

exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat,

vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to

a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid

from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has

become more important than agricultural exports as a source of

foreign exchange.

Mauritania

Half the population still depends on agriculture and

livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and

subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent

droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits

of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The

decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks

in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest

fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners

threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater

port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and

economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In

February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December

2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a

triennial Consultative Group review. In 2001, exploratory oil wells

in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current

world oil prices. A new investment code approved in December 2001

improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Ongoing

negotiations with the IMF involve problems of economic reforms and

fiscal discipline. Substantial oil production and exports probably

will not begin until 2005. Meantime the government emphasizes

reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and

promoting privatization of the economy.

Mauritius

Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a

low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income

diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist

sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order

of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more

equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered

infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is

grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25%

of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on

expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic

information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted

more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India

and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has

reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector

and responsible fiscal management, has been well poised to take

advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Mayotte

Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural

sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not

self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food

requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development

of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance,

an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an

obstacle to the development of tourism.

Mexico

Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and

outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the

private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in

seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation,

natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is

one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly

unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the

implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Real GDP growth was a weak -0.3% in

2001, 0.9% in 2002, and 1.2% in 2003, with the US slowdown the

principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area

in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements.

The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure,

modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to

invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow.

Micronesia, Federated States of

Economic activity consists primarily

of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral

deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The

potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remote location, a

lack of adequate facilities, and limited air connections hinder

development. In November 2002, the country experienced a further

reduction in future revenues from the Compact of Free Association -

the agreement with the US in which Micronesia received $1.3 billion

in financial and technical assistance over a 15-year period until

2001. The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile due

not only to the reduction in US assistance but also to the slow

growth of the private sector. Geographical isolation and a poorly

developed infrastructure remain major impediments to long-term

growth.

Midway Islands

The economy is based on providing support services

for the national wildlife refuge activities located on the islands.

All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Moldova

Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe despite recent

progress from its small economic base. It enjoys a favorable climate

and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result,

the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits,

vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import almost all of its

energy supplies from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp

production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a

convertible currency, freed prices, stopped issuing preferential

credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization,

removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government

entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote

growth and reduce poverty. The economy returned to positive growth,

of 2.1% in 2000, 6.1% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002, and 6.3% in 2003.

Further reforms will come slowly because of strong political forces

backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to

higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of

foreign investors.

Monaco

Monaco, bordering France on the Mediterranean coast, is a

popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant

climate. In 2001, a major construction project extended the pier

used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The principality has

successfully sought to diversify into services and small,

high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income

tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for

individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies

that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains

monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone

network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly

comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco

does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are

extremely rough.

Mongolia

Economic activity traditionally has been based on

agriculture and breeding of livestock. Mongolia also has extensive

mineral deposits; copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold

account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet

assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost

overnight in 1990-91 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR.

Mongolia was driven into deep recession, prolonged by the Mongolian

People's Revolutionary Party's (MPRP) reluctance to undertake

serious economic reform. The Democratic Union Coalition (DUC)

government embraced free-market economics, eased price controls,

liberalized domestic and international trade, and attempted to

restructure the banking system and the energy sector. Major domestic

privatization programs were undertaken, as well as the fostering of

foreign investment through international tender of the oil

distribution company, a leading cashmere company, and banks. Reform

was held back by the ex-Communist MPRP opposition and by the

political instability brought about through four successive

governments under the DUC. Economic growth picked up in 1997-99

after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and

declines in world prices of copper and cashmere. In August and

September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on

exports of oil and oil products, and Mongolia remains vulnerable in

this sector. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in

1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million

per year at the Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in

June 1999. The MPRP government, elected in July 2000, was anxious to

improve the investment climate; it also had to deal with a heavy

burden of external debt. Falling prices for Mongolia's mainly

primary sector exports, widespread opposition to privatization, and

adverse effects of weather on agriculture in early 2000 and 2001

restrained real GDP growth. Despite drought problems in 2002, GDP

rose 4.0%, followed by a solid 5.0% increase in 2003. The first

applications under the land privatization law have been marked by a

number of disputes over particular sites. Russia claims Mongolia

owes it $11 billion from the Soviet period; any settlement could

substantially increase Mongolia's foreign debt burden.

Montserrat

Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has

put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in

June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic

and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled

the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing

limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected

by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of

crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in

relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity.

The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help

reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain

uninhabitable for another decade.

Morocco

Morocco faces the problems typical of developing countries -

restraining government spending, reducing constraints on private

activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable economic

growth. Despite structural adjustment programs supported by the IMF,

the World Bank, and the Paris Club, the dirham is only fully

convertible for current account transactions. Reforms of the

financial sector are being contemplated. Droughts depressed activity

in the key agricultural sector and contributed to a stagnant economy

in 2002. Morocco reported large foreign exchange inflows from the

sale of a mobile telephone license, and partial privatization of the

state-owned telecommunications company and the state tobacco

company. Favorable rainfall in 2003 led to a growth of 6%.

Formidable long-term challenges include: preparing the economy for

freer trade with the EU and US, improving education, and attracting

foreign investment to boost living standards and job prospects for

Morocco's youth.

Mozambique

At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the

world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal

civil war from 1977-92 exacerbated the situation. In 1987, the

government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to

stabilize the economy. These steps, combined with donor assistance

and with political stability since the multi-party elections in

1994, have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth

rate. Inflation was reduced to single digits during the late 1990s

although it returned to double digits in 2000-03. Fiscal reforms,

including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the

customs service, have improved the government's revenue collection

abilities. In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent

upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the

majority of the population remains below the poverty line.

Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the

country's workforce. A substantial trade imbalance persists although

the opening of the MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest

foreign investment project to date has increased export earnings.

Additional investment projects in titanium extraction and processing

and garment manufacturing should further close the import/export

gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced

through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is

now at a manageable level.

Namibia

The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and

processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP.

Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for

gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of

nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of

uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin,

silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the

population while about half of the population depends on subsistence

agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50%

of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a

major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the

region, hides the great inequality of income distribution; nearly

one-third of Namibians had annual incomes of less than $1,400 in

constant 1994 dollars, according to a 1993 study. The Namibian

economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar

pegged to the South African rand. Privatization of several

enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign

investment. Mining of zinc, copper, and silver and increased fish

production led growth in 2003.

Nauru

Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from

exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other

resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from

Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support.

The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from

phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the

exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of

phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion

the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result

of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual

bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on

wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments,

privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some

overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the

registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the

deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant

continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and

economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive

statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP

varying widely.

Navassa Island

Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling

activities within refuge waters.

Nepal

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in

the world with 42% of its population living below the poverty line.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood

for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP.

Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural

produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Security

concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict and the 11 September

2001 terrorist attacks in the US have led to a decrease in tourism,

a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for

exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent

foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or

investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of

the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its

remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, its civil strife,

and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international

community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development

budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely

continue as a major ingredient of growth.

Netherlands

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which

depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable

industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable

current account surplus, and an important role as a European

transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food

processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery.

A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of

the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing

industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU

partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The

country continues to be one of the leading European nations for

attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed

considerably in 2001-03, as part of the global economic slowdown,

but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly

4%, well above the EU average. The government is wrestling with a

deteriorating budget position, and is moving toward the EU 3% of GDP

budget deficit limit.

Netherlands Antilles

Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore

finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely

tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown

slightly in each of the past seven years, the islands enjoy a high

per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with

other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods

are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor

soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of

agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and

pension systems of an aging population.

New Caledonia

New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known

nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for

cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition

to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more

than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the

economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined

with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic

outlook for the next several years.

New Zealand

Over the past 20 years the government has transformed

New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary

British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy

that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real

incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder),

broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the

industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita

income has been rising and is now 80% of the level of the four

largest EU economies. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade -

particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has

been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in

commodity prices. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and

growth should continue at the same level in 2004. Expenditures on

health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries,

faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external

debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the

globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic

stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth of 1.5% - 2.5%

has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will

continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under

the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has

undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help

the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under

HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness

of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human

rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to

with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy.

Niger

Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy

centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport

trade, and increasingly less on uranium, because of declining world

demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January

1994 boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products

of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral

and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999

coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In

2000-01, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of

$105 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could

prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation.

The IMF approved a $73 million poverty reduction and growth facility

for Niger in 2000 and announced $115 million in debt relief under

the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Further

disbursements of aid occurred in 2002. Future growth may be

sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral

resources.

Nigeria

Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability,

corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic

management, is undertaking some reforms under the new civilian

administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify

the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil

sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings,

and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence

agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population

growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the

country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.

Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000,

Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a

$1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms.

Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing

to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for

additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. The government has

lacked the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms

urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb

inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve

regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil

industry. During 2003, however, the government deregulated fuel

prices and announced the privatization of the country's four oil

refineries. GDP growth probably will rise marginally in 2004, led by

oil and natural gas exports.

Niue

The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of

geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population.

Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall

is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are

used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government

expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The

agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening,

although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists

primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil,

honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign

collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent

years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration

of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the

promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although

Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down

the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002

was about $2.6 million.

Norfolk Island

Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily

increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity

unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural

sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef,

poultry, and eggs.

Northern Mariana Islands

The economy benefits substantially from

financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined

as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist

industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for

roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual

tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but

financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown.

The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms

producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment

production is by far the most important industry with employment of

17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under

duty and quota exemptions.

Norway

The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare

capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and

government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as

the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises).

The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum,

hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on

its oil production and international oil prices, with oil and gas

accounting for one-third of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia

export more oil than Norway. Norway opted to stay out of the EU

during a referendum in November 1994. The government has moved ahead

with privatization. With arguably the highest quality of life

worldwide, Norwegians still worry about that time in the next two

decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway

has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government

Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more

than $43 billion. GDP growth was a lackluster 1% in 2002 and 0.5% in

2003 against the background of a faltering European economy.

Oman

Oman is a small, well-off middle Eastern economy with large oil

and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation.

The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities,

the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign

investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to

liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO)

in November 2000. In order to reduce unemployment and limit

dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the

replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., the

process of Omanization. Training in information technology, business

management, and English support this objective. Industrial

development plans focus on gas resources.

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world

economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch.

It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West,

extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals,

and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60%

of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation

of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role

in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru.

The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the

wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to

fluctuations in new drillings.

Pakistan

Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, has

suffered from decades of internal political disputes, low levels of

foreign investment, and a costly, ongoing confrontation with

neighboring India. However, IMF-approved government policies,

bolstered by generous foreign assistance and renewed access to

global markets since late 2001, have generated solid macroeconomic

recovery the last two years. The government has made substantial

inroads in macroeconomic reform since 2000, although progress on

more politically sensitive reforms has slowed. For example, in the

third and final year of its $1.3 billion IMF Poverty Reduction and

Growth Facility, Islamabad has continued to require waivers for

energy sector reforms. While long-term prospects remain uncertain,

given Pakistan's low level of development, medium-term prospects for

job creation and poverty reduction are the best in nearly a decade.

Islamabad has raised development spending from about 2% of GDP in

the 1990s to 4% in 2003, a necessary step towards reversing the

broad underdevelopment of its social sector. GDP growth is heavily

dependent on rain-fed crops, and last year's end to a four-year

drought should support moderate agricultural growth for the next few

years. Foreign exchange reserves continued to reach new levels in

2003, supported by robust export growth and steady worker

remittances.

Palau

The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence

agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the

work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US.

Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The

population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines

and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist

sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in

the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries,

and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure

development.

Palmyra Atoll

no economic activity

Panama

Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a

well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of

GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon

Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and

tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the

global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back

economic growth in 2000-03. The government has been backing public

works programs, tax reforms, new regional trade agreements, and

development of tourism in order to stimulate growth. Unemployment

remains at an unacceptably high level.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural

resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and

the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a

subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits,

including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings.

The economy has faltered over the past four years. Former Prime

Minister Mekere MORAUTA had tried to restore integrity to state

institutions, to stabilize the kina, restore stability to the

national budget, to privatize public enterprises where appropriate,

and to ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville. The government has had

considerable success in attracting international support,

specifically gaining the backing of the IMF and the World Bank in

securing development assistance loans. Challenges face Prime

Minister Michael SOMARE, including curbing inflation, gaining

further investor confidence, continuing efforts to privatize

government assets, maintaining the support of members of Parliament,

and balancing relations with Australia, the former colonial ruler.

Paracel Islands

China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands

for tourism.

Paraguay

Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal

sector. The informal sector features both reexport of imported

consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of

thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of

the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures

are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population

derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a

subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3%

annually in 1995-97; but GDP declined slightly in 1998, 1999, and

2000, rose slightly in 2001, only to fall again in 2002. On a per

capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most

observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to

political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural

reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient

infrastructure.

Peru

Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal

region, the Andes further inland, and tropical lands bordering

Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the

mountainous areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent

fishing grounds. However, overdependence on minerals and metals

subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and a lack of

infrastructure deters trade and investment. After several years of

inconsistent economic performance, the Peruvian economy was one of

the fastest growing in Latin America in 2002 and 2003, growing by 5%

and 4%, respectively, with the exchange rate stable and an annual

inflation lower than 2%. Foreign direct investment also was strong,

thanks to the ongoing Camisea natural gas pipeline project

(scheduled to begin operations in 2004) and investments in gold

mining. Risk premiums on Peruvian bonds on secondary markets reached

historically low levels in late 2003, reflecting investor optimism

and the government's fiscal restraint. Despite the strong

macroeconomic performance, political intrigue and allegations of

corruption continued to swirl in 2003, with the TOLEDO

administration growing increasingly unpopular, and local and foreign

concern rising that the political turmoil could place the country's

hard-won fiscal and financial stability at risk. Moreover, as of

late 2003, unemployment had yet to respond to the strong growth in

economic activity, owing in part to rigid labor market regulations

that act as an impediment to hiring.

Philippines

The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian

financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual

remittances of $6-7 billion from overseas workers. From a 0.6%

decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but

slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown,

an export slump, and political and security concerns. GDP growth

accelerated to 4.4% in 2002 and 4.2% in 2003, reflecting the

continued resilience of the service sector, gains in industrial

output, and improved exports. Nonetheless, it will take a higher,

sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in poverty

alleviation given the Philippines' high annual population growth

rate and unequal distribution of income. The MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

Administration has promised to continue economic reforms to help the

Philippines match the pace of development in the newly

industrialized countries of East Asia. The strategy includes

improving the infrastructure, strengthening tax collection to

bolster government revenues, furthering deregulation and

privatization of the economy, enhancing the viability of the

financial system, and increasing trade integration with the region.

Prospects for 2004 will depend on the economic performance of two

major trading partners, the US and Japan, and on increased

confidence on the part of the international investment community.

Pitcairn Islands

The inhabitants of this tiny isolated economy exist

on fishing, subsistence farming, handicrafts, and postage stamps.

The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits

and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas,

yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The

major sources of revenue are the sale of postage stamps to

collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships.

Poland

Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic

liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a

success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to

be done. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies

and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the

development of the private business sector, but legal and

bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering

its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains

handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small

farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of

"sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy),

while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care,

education, the pension system, and state administration have

resulted in larger than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress

in public finance depends mainly on privatization of Poland's

remaining state sector, the reduction of state employment, and an

overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and

farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to

enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new

legislation; in a nationwide referendum in November 2003, 77% of the

voters voted in favor of Poland's EU accession, now scheduled for

May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing

the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political

uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the

euro, while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been

appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the three Baltic states.

Portugal

Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly

service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986.

Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many

state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy,

including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country

qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and

began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU

member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for

much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-03. GDP per capita

stands at 70% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor

educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater

productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed

by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for

foreign direct investment. The coalition government faces tough

choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness

and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the

Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has far surpassed

agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income.

Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US

firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US

minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy

production and other livestock products as the main source of income

in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an

important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5

million tourists in 1999. Growth fell off in 2001-03, largely due to

the slowdown in the US economy.

Qatar

Oil and gas account for more than 55% of GDP, roughly 85% of

export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have

given Qatar a per capita GDP about 80% of that of the leading West

European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 14.5 billion

barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23

years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 17.9 trillion

cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total and third largest in

the world. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore

natural gas reserves to offset the ultimate decline in oil

production. Since 2000, Qatar has consistently posted trade

surpluses largely because of high oil prices and increased natural

gas exports.

Reunion

The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but

services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more

than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports.

The government has been pushing the development of a tourist

industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of

the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the

poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social

tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better

off than other segments of the population, often approaching

European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and

unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent.

The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the

seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of

Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from

France.

Romania

Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a

largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to

the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing

three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets.

Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in

construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above

4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, was accompanied by

slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the

curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of

the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania had

successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution.

In July 2004, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a 24-month

standby arrangement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do

not intend to draw on this arrangement, viewing it as a precaution.

Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address

Romania's widespread poverty, and corruption and red tape handicap

the business environment.

Russia

Russia ended 2003 with its fifth straight year of growth,

averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although

high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers

of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven

demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital

investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last four

years and real personal incomes have averaged increases over 12%.

Russia has also improved its international financial position since

the 1998 financial crisis, with its foreign debt declining from 90%

of GDP to around 28%. Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia

to increase its foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $80

billion. These achievements, along with a renewed government effort

to advance structural reforms, have raised business and investor

confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless, serious

problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for

more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings

in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must

be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based

economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a

poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign

investors, corruption, local and regional government intervention in

the courts, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In

addition, a string of investigations launched against a major

Russian oil company, culminating with the arrest of its CEO in the

fall of 2003, have raised concerns by some observers that President

PUTIN is granting more influence to forces within his government

that desire to reassert state control over the economy.

Rwanda

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the

population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the

most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few

natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange

earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's

fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population,

particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract

private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made

substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy

to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has

rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however,

have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of

much needed hard currency. Attempts to diversify into

non-traditional agriculture exports such as flowers and vegetables

have been stymied by a lack of adequate transportation

infrastructure. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production

often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food to

be imported. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and

was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)

initiative debt relief in late 2000. But Kigali's high defense

expenditures cause tension between the government and international

donors and lending agencies.

Saint Helena

The economy depends largely on financial assistance

from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost

one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns

income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of

handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has

left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and

in the UK.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the

Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still

dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism,

export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed

larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief

source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover

tourist arrivals following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks

has eroded government finances. The opening of a 1,000+ bed Marriott

hotel in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue.

Saint Lucia

Changes in the EU import preference regime and the

increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic

diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island

nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment,

especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. The

manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean

area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana

industry. Economic fundamentals remain solid.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

The inhabitants have traditionally earned

their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets

operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been

declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing

quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint

Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an

exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding

territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of

what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France

to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an

expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test

drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy

sector.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Economic growth in this

lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the

agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out

substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism

in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11

September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking

sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards.

Saint Vincent is also a large producer of marijuana and is being

used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South

America.

Samoa

The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on

development aid, family remittances from overseas, and agriculture

and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms.

Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 90%

of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The

manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. The

decline of fish stocks in the area is a continuing problem. Tourism

is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 88,000

tourists visited the islands in 2001. The Samoan Government has

called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of

investment, and continued fiscal discipline, meantime protecting the

environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market

as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves

are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and

inflation is low.

San Marino

The tourist sector contributes over 50% of GDP. In 2000

more than 3 million tourists visited San Marino. The key industries

are banking, wearing apparel, electronics, and ceramics. Main

agricultural products are wine and cheeses. The per capita level of

output and standard of living are comparable to those of the most

prosperous regions of Italy, which supplies much of its food.

Sao Tome and Principe

This small poor island economy has become

increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 29 years ago.

Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because

of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices helped boost

export earnings in 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most

manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of

food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external

debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt

rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in

December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)

program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has

been rewarded by international donors, who pledged increased

assistance in 2001. Considerable potential exists for development of

a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand

facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to

reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic about

the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in

the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea; production could begin as early as 2004.

Saudi Arabia

This is an oil-based economy with strong government

controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the

largest reserves of petroleum in the world (25% of the proved

reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a

leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75%

of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About

40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly five and a half

million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy,

for example, in the oil and service sectors. The government in 1999

announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies,

which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications

company. The government is encouraging private sector growth to

lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment

opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Priorities for

government spending in the short term include additional funds for

education and for the water and sewage systems. Economic reforms

proceed cautiously because of deep-rooted political and social

conservatism.

Senegal

In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious

economic reform program with the support of the international donor

community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's

currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the

French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been

steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in

1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform

program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during

1995-2003. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single

digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union

(WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with

a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet

connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information

technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of

GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems

of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile

delinquency, and drug addiction.

Serbia and Montenegro

MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an

extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to

Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes

in 1999 have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990.

After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in

October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition

government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an

aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in

the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into

the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and

the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World

Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June

2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement

rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts

was concluded in November 2001; it wrote off 66% of the debt. The

smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal

control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to

maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav

dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages

its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is largely

autonomous under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in

Kosovo (UNMIK) and is greatly dependent on the international

community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance.

The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK

collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and

Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization,

legal uncertainty over property rights, and scarcity of

foreign-investment are holding back Serbia and Montenegro's economy.

Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal

discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe

unemployment remains a key political economic problem.

Seychelles

Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this

Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old

near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector,

which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than

70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years

the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade

hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has

moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the

development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. A

sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in

1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11

September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Other issues facing the

government are the curbing of the budget deficit, including the

containment of social welfare costs, and further privatization of

public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, due to sluggish

tourist and tuna sectors. Also, tight controls on exchange rates and

the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic

prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee is half

the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency

the tourist sector should remain sluggish as vacationers seek

cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with

tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have

substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However,

the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and

serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development,

following a 11-year civil war. About two-thirds of the working-age

population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing

consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light

manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans continue to reopen

bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major

source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate

of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and

the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is

essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and to supplement

government revenues.

Singapore

Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market

economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment,

stable prices, and a high per capita GDP. The economy depends

heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing.

It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession and the slump in

the technology sector. The government hopes to establish a new

growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business

cycle but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as

Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low

interest rates, and global economic recovery should lead to much

improved growth in 2004.

Slovakia

Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from

a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA

government made excellent progress during 2001-03 in macroeconomic

stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly

complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands,

and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded

expectations in 2001-03, despite the general European slowdown.

Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003, remains the economy's

Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2004,

especially cutting the budget deficit, containing inflation, and

strengthening the health care system.

Slovenia

Slovenia, with its historical ties to Western Europe,

enjoys a GDP per capita substantially higher than that of the other

transitioning economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia

became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status

to donor partner at the World Bank. Privatization of the economy

proceeded at an accelerated pace in 2002-03, and the budget deficit

dropped from 3.0% of GDP in 2002 to 1.6% in 2003. Despite the

economic slowdown in Europe in 2001-03, Slovenia maintained 3%

growth. Structural reforms to improve the business environment allow

for greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and help to

lower unemployment. Further measures to curb inflation are also

needed. Corruption and the high degree of coordination between

government, business, and central bank policy are issues of concern

in the run-up to Slovenia's scheduled 1 May 2004 accession to the

European Union.

Solomon Islands

The bulk of the population depends on agriculture,

fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most

manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The

islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead,

zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing

of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have

led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker

deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical

generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability

to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened

by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and

maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. The

disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by

mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers

entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the

restoration of basic services.

Somalia

Somalia's economic fortunes are being driven by its deep

political divisions. The northern area has declared its independence

as "Somaliland"; the central area, Puntland, is a self-declared

autonomous state; and the remaining southern portion is riddled with

the struggles of rival factions. Economic life continues, in part

because much activity is local and relatively easily protected.

Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally

accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings,

but Saudi Arabia's recent ban on Somali livestock, because of Rift

Valley Fever concerns, has severely hampered the sector. Nomads and

semi-nomads, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood,

make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish,

charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar,

sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports.

Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of

agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap

metal. Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has

managed to survive and grow. Telecommunication firms provide

wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest

international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a

formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted

throughout the country, handling between $200 million and $500

million in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a

variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels

continue to operate, and militias provide security. The ongoing

civil disturbances and clan rivalries, however, have interfered with

any broad-based economic development and international aid

arrangements. In 2002 Somalia's overdue financial obligations to the

IMF continued to grow. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per

capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically.

South Africa

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with

an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial,

legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock

exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern

infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to

major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not

been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate;

and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era,

especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the

disadvantaged groups. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also

deter investment. South African economic policy is fiscally

conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and

liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household

income.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Some fishing takes

place in adjacent waters. Fees from fishing licenses and related

activities traditionally account for around 90% of South Georgia's

revenue (about $5.6 million in 2004). There is a potential source of

income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income

from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses,

and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from

specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. Annual tourist

volume hovers around 3,000 arrivals.

Southern Ocean

Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed

112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian

toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to

reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the

2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of

Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer

12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean

and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year.

Spain

Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per

capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European

economies. The center-right government of former President AZNAR

successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of

countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1

January 1999. The AZNAR administration continued to advocate

liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and

introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily

under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.7%. Growth of

2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering

European economy. Incoming President RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, whose party

won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in

March, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat

tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but

also intends to reintroduce labor market regulations that had been

scrapped by the AZNAR government. Adjusting to the monetary and

other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing

unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.

Spratly Islands

Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing.

The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins

suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is

largely unexplored; there are no reliable estimates of potential

reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Sri Lanka

In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and

its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies

and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are

food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages,

telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation

crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while

textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average

annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a

deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The

economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001

saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a

combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the

global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to

4.0% in 2002 and 5.2% in 2003. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work

abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a

year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a

largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the

economy.

Sudan

Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound

economic policies and infrastructure investments, yet it still faces

formidable economic problems, starting from its low level of per

capita output and extending to its devastating civil stife. From

1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms.

In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of

1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary

policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production,

revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped

sustain GDP growth at 6.1% in 2003 and 7% in 2004. Agriculture

production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of

the work force and contributing 39% of GDP, but most farms remain

rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability - including

the long-standing civil war between the Muslim north and the

Christian/pagan south, the ethnic purges in Darfur, adverse weather,

and weak world agricultural prices - ensure that much of the

population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

Suriname

The economy is dominated by the bauxite industry, which

accounts for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings.

Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on

renewed commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and

to the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and

promote competition. The government of Ronald VENETIAAN has begun an

austerity program, raised taxes, and attempted to control spending.

However, in 2002, President VENETIAAN agreed to a large pay raise

for civil servants, which threatens his earlier gains in stabilizing

the economy. The Dutch Government has agreed to restart the aid

flow, which will allow Suriname to access international development

financing. The short-term economic outlook depends on the

government's ability to control inflation and on the development of

projects in the bauxite and gold mining sectors.

Svalbard

Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The

treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to

exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although

US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past,

the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The

settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian

state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian

population on the island, runs many of the local services, and

provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some

hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox.

Swaziland

In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture

occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector

has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain

important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in

importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines

remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short

border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South

Africa from which it receives about nine-tenths of its imports and

to which it sends nearly three-quarters of its exports. Customs

duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker

remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically

earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere

for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and

sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than

one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2002

because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population

was infected by HIV/AIDS.

Sweden

Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole 20th century,

Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed

system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It

has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external

communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and

iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented

toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of

industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50%

of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and

2% of the jobs. The government's commitment to fiscal discipline

resulted in a substantial budgetary surplus in 2001, which was cut

by more than half in 2002, due to the global economic slowdown,

declining revenue, and increased spending. The Swedish central bank

(the Riksbank) is focusing on price stability with its inflation

target of 2%. Growth remained sluggish in 2003. On September 14,

2003, Swedish voters turned down entry into the euro system,

concerned about the impact on democracy and sovereignty.

Switzerland

Switzerland is a prosperous and stable modern market

economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a

per capita GDP larger than that of the big Western European

economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic

practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance their

international competitiveness. Switzerland remains a safe haven for

investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and

has kept up the franc's long-term external value. Reflecting the

anemic economic conditions of Europe, GDP growth dropped in 2001 to

about 0.8%, to 0.2% in 2002, and to -0.3% in 2003.

Syria

Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing

more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent

legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a

private banking sector will take years and further government

cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the

US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth

levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and

4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on

water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial

expansion, and increased water pollution.

Taiwan

Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually

decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government

authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned

banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have

provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade

surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third

largest. Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952.

While Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia, China

has become the largest destination for investment and has overtaken

the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its

conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths,

Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the

Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn,

combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration

and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in

2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment

also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in

the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence,

and bad bank loans. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant

long-term factor. Exports to China - mainly parts and equipment for

the assembly of goods for export to developed countries - drove

Taiwan's economic recovery in 2002. Although the SARS epidemic,

Typhoon Maemi, corporate scandals, and a drop in consumer spending

caused GDP growth to contract to 3.2% in 2003, increasingly strong

export performance kept Taiwan's economy on track, and the

government expects Taiwan's economy to grow 4.1% in 2004.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15

former Soviet republics. Only 5% to 6% of the land area is arable.

Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but

limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten.

Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower

facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry

and food processing. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the

already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in

industrial and agricultural production. Even though 60% of its

people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has

experienced steady economic growth since 1997. Continued

privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will

further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation,

however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural

reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external

debt burden. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia

in December 2002, including an interest rate of 4%, a 3-year grace

period, and a US $49.8 million credit to the Central Bank of

Tajikistan.

Tanzania

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The

economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for about

half of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work

force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated

crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry traditionally featured

the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral

donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date

economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Growth in

1991-2002 featured a pickup in industrial production and a

substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Oil and gas

exploration and development played an important role in this growth.

Recent banking reforms have helped increase private sector growth

and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic

policies supported real GDP growth of more than 5.2% in 2004.

Thailand

Thailand has a free-enterprise economy and welcomes foreign

investment. Exports feature textiles and footwear, fishery products,

rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical

appliances. Thailand has recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial

Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002. Increased

consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed

GDP growth up to 6.3% in 2003 despite a sluggish global economy. The

highly popular government has pushed an expansionist policy,

including major support of village economic development.

Togo

This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both

commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment

for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be

imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export

earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is

the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production

fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of

developing new deposits. The government's decade-long effort,

supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic

reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in

line with expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on

following through on privatization, increased openness in government

financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and

continued support from foreign donors.

Tokelau

Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack

of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine

agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid

from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public

services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The

principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage

stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to

families from relatives in New Zealand.

Tonga

Tonga, a small, open, South Pacific island economy, has a

narrow export base in agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas,

and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make

up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high

proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. Tourism is the

second-largest source of hard currency earnings following

remittances. The country remains dependent on external aid and

remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade

deficit. The government is emphasizing the development of the

private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is

committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a

reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well-developed social

services. High unemployment among the young and the continuing

upturn in inflation are major issues facing the government.

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean

producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent

investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing

sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other

Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a

growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2004 are good as

prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquified natural gas are

expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to

grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The

government is coping with a rise in violent crime.

Tromelin Island

no economic activity

Tunisia

Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural,

mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental

control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened

over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification

of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth,

averaging 5% for the latter half of the last decade, slowed to a

15-year low of 1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought, slow

investment, and lackluster tourism. Better rains in 2003, however,

pushed GDP growth up to an estimated 6 percent, and tourism also

recovered after the end of combat operations in Iraq. GDP growth

remained at 6% in 2004. Tunisia has agreed to gradually remove

barriers to trade with the European Union over the next decade.

Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code

to increase foreign investment, improvements in government

efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the

challenges for the future.

Turkey

Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry

and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in

2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and

rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major

role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The

largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts

for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition

in international markets with the end of the global quota system.

However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electonics

industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. In

recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic

economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded

6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by

sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the

public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due

in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which

accounted for more than 40% of central government spending in 2003.

Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to

11.3% in 2004. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct

investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually.

Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support

from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and

economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will

become a member of the EU.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive

agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources.

One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it at

one time the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent

years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an

authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based

social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to

economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its

inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In

1998-2003, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate

export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive

short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports

rose by 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and

gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging

because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt,

and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented

reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international

community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may

foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid,

and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are

state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins

of error. In particular, the 20% rate of GDP growth is a guess.

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos economy is based on

tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital

goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the

leading source of tourists, accounting for more than half of the

93,000 visitors in the late 1990s. Major sources of government

revenue include fees from offshore financial activities and customs

receipts. Tourism fell by 6% in 2002.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of

nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral

resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the

primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average,

visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the

sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000

Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has

begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources

decline. Substantial income is received annually from an

international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and

the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise

investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from

an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US

government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of

payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its

dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector

reforms, including privatization of some government functions and

personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue

from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the

lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new

technology sources could increase substantially over the next

decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise

imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and

telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers,

official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets.

Uganda

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile

soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and

cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy,

employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk

of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of

foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to

rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency

reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices

of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy

changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting

production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned

in a solid performance based on continued investment in the

rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production

and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic

security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs.

Corruption within the government and slippage in the government's

determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation

of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly

Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and

Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined

with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion.

Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price

of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Solid growth in 2003 reflected

an upturn in Uganda's export markets.

Ukraine

After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the

most important economic component of the former Soviet Union,

producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic.

Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet

agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities

of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise,

its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for

example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and

mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the

former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially

natural gas, to meet some 85% of its annual energy requirements.

Shortly after independence in December 1991, the Ukrainian

Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for

privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the

government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led

to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of

the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to

hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on

Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural

reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external

shocks. President KUCHMA had pledged to reduce the number of

government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a

legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a

comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically

sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are

still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have

encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. GDP in

2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth

since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. The

economy continued to expand in 2001 as real GDP rose 9% and

industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth of 4.6% in 2002 was more

moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed

world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic

demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence.

Growth was a sturdy 9.3% in 2003 and a remarkable 12% in 2004,

despite a loss of momentum in needed economic reforms.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE has an open economy with a high per

capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is

based on oil and gas output (about 33% of GDP), and the fortunes of

the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since

1973, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an

impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state

with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil

and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government

has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion

and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector

involvement.

United Kingdom

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center,

is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western

Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced

public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare

programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient

by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only

1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil

reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of

the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly

banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the

largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in

importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn,

the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy"

bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of

the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment

remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated

the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join

the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out,

however, that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and they

point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of

Britons opposed to the euro. Meantime, the government has been

speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health

services, at a cost in higher taxes. The war in March-April 2003

between a US-led coalition and Iraq, together with the subsequent

problems of restoring the economy and the polity, involve a heavy

commitment of British military forces.

United States

The US has the largest and most technologically

powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $37,800. In

this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms

make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments

buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private

marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater

flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in

decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and

to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers

to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of

foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront

in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical,

aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed

since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely

explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in

which those at the bottom lack the education and the

professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and

more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage,

and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in

household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years

1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation

rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. The year 2001 saw the

end of boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only

0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially.

The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed

the remarkable resilience of the economy. Moderate recovery took

place in 2002 with the GDP growth rate rising to 2.4%. A major

short-term problem in first half 2002 was a sharp decline in the

stock market, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting

practices in some major corporations. The war in March/April 2003

between a US-led coalition and Iraq shifted resources to the

military. In 2003, growth in output and productivity and the

recovery of the stock market to above 10,000 for the Dow Jones

Industrial Average were promising signs. Unemployment stayed at the

6% level, however, and began to decline only at the end of the year.

Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic

infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging

population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of

family income in the lower economic groups.

Uruguay

Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an

export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and

high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5%

annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major

downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the

economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. For

instance, in 2001-02 massive withdrawals by Argentina of dollars

deposited in Uruguayan banks led to a plunge in the Uruguyan peso

and a massive rise in unemployment. Total GDP in these four years

dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year due to the serious

banking crisis. Unemployment rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation

surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with

the IMF and the US has limited the damage. The debt swap with

private creditors carried out in 2003, which extended the maturity

dates on nearly half of Uruguay's $11.3 billion in public debt,

substantially alleviated the country's amortization burden in the

coming years and restored public confidence. The economy is expected

to resume growth in 2004 (perhaps 4% or more) as a result of high

commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, the weakness of the dollar

against the euro, growth in the region, low international interest

rates, and greater export competitiveness. On the negative side, in

December 2003 the electorate voted to repeal the law permitting a

cautious liberalization of the energy industry.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11%

consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than

60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities.

Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter, a

large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant

producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in

December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style

command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and

prices. Uzbekistan responded to the negative external conditions

generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by emphasizing

import substitute industrialization and by tightening export and

currency controls within its already largely closed economy. The

government, while aware of the need to improve the investment

climate, sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, the

government's control over business decisions. A sharp increase in

the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of

society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted the

obligations of Article VIII under the International Monetary Fund

(IMF), providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict

currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the

effects of convertibility and have also lead to some shortages which

have further stifled economic activity.

Vanuatu

This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on

small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the

population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with

about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy.

Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum

deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market.

Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is

hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports,

vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main

markets and between constituent islands. A severe earthquake in

November 1999 followed by a tsunami, caused extensive damage to the

northern island of Pentecote and left thousands homeless. Another

powerful earthquake in January 2002 caused extensive damage in the

capital, Port-Vila, and surrounding areas, and also was followed by

a tsunami. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In

response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten

regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the

government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Agriculture,

especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth.

Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and

foreign aid. Growth expanded moderately in 2003.

Venezuela

Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the

petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of GDP,

around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government

operating revenues. Despite higher oil prices at the end of 2002 and

into 2003, domestic political instability, culminating in a

disastrous two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to

February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy

remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall

in 2002. In late 2003, President CHAVEZ committed himself to $1

billion in new social programs, money the government does not have.

Vietnam

Vietnam is a poor, densely-populated country that has had to

recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from

the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned

economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in

moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth

averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian

financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy,

but rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief

that shifting to a market-oriented economy would lead to disaster.

GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth

then rose to 6% to 7% in 2000-02 even against the background of

global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in

economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal,

cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of

inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign

producers. Since the Party elected new leadership in 2001,

Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic

liberalization and have moved to implement the structural reforms

needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive,

export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement

entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to

significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is

assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms

called for in the agreement.

Virgin Islands

Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting

for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million

visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum

refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch

assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being

imported. International business and financial services are a small

but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest

petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to

substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve

fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private

sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to

protect the environment.

Wake Island

Economic activity is limited to providing services to

contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods

must be imported.

Wallis and Futuna

The economy is limited to traditional subsistence

agriculture, with about 80% labor force earnings from agriculture

(coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing.

About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come

from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to

Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate

workers in New Caledonia.

West Bank

Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip

(WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the

combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population

growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of

Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in

response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and

commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most

serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment,

which in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995

it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures

during the next three years decreased and, in 1998, Israel

implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other

security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor.

These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in

the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in

1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the

outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of

Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor

movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military

measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction

of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread

business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including Gaza Strip,

the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the

125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in

joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about

80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their

jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank

and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy. In

2004, on-going border issues and the death of Yasser ARAFAT

continued to complicate the economic situation.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing,

and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the

population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable

agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban

population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities

are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests

in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western

Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of

living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.

World

Global output rose by 3.7% in 2003, led by China (9.1%), India

(7.6%), and Russia (7.3%). The other 14 successor nations of the

USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely

divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong

performers, in the 5%-7% range of growth. Growth results posted by

the major industrial countries varied from a loss by Germany (-0.1%)

to a strong gain by the United States (3.1%). The developing nations

also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing

population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the

nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is

steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods,

funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often

finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional

movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in

many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the

former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada.

Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers

to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the

difficult political problem of channeling resources away from

welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen

incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people

each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the

problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics,

and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities,

the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal

effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from

the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The

introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western

Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated

economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels

of income and cultural and political differences among the

participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11

September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global

prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of

resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The

opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq

added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the

coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high

economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major

global problems that continue into 2004.

Yemen

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world,

reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil

production. It has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices,

but now benefits from current high prices. Yemen has embarked on an

IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize

and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign

debt relief and restructuring. International donors, meeting in

Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic

support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over

spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program.

A markedly high population growth rate and internal political

dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a

diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more

efficient use of scarce water resources.

Zambia

Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform,

Zambia's economic growth remains below the 5% to 7% necessary to

reduce poverty significantly. Privatization of government-owned

copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses

generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for

copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth.

Copper output increased in 2003 and is expected to increase again in

2004, due to higher copper prices. The maize harvest doubled in

2003, helping boost GDP by 4.0%. Cooperation continues with

international bodies on programs to reduce poverty, including a new

lending arrangement with the IMF expected in the second quarter,

2004. A tighter monetary policy will help cut inflation, but Zambia

still has a serious problem with fiscal discipline.

Zimbabwe

The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of

difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable

fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and

bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of

dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been

suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals.

Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 383% in 2003,

and is expected to reach 700% in 2004. The government's land reform

program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the

commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and

foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs.

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

======================================================================

@2117 Pipelines (km)

Afghanistan

gas 387 km (2004)

Albania

gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2004)

Algeria

condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas

2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2004)

Angola

gas 214 km; liquid natural gas 14 km; liquid petroleum gas 30

km; oil 837 km; refined products 56 km (2004)

Argentina

gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km;

refined products 2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004)

Armenia

gas 1,871 km (2004)

Australia

condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas

240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004)

Austria

gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004)

Azerbaijan

gas 4,451 km; oil 1,518 km (2004)

Bahrain

gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004)

Bangladesh

gas 2,012 km (2004)

Belarus

gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)

Belgium

gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004)

Bolivia

gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,457 km;

refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2004)

Brazil

condensate/gas 244 km; gas 10,739 km; liquid petroleum gas

341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km (2004)

Brunei

gas 665 km; oil 439 km (2004)

Bulgaria

gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2004)

Burma

gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004)

Cameroon

gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004)

Canada

crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980

km (2003)

Chad

oil 205 km (2004)

Chile

gas 2,583 km; gas/lpg 42 km; liquid petroleum gas 539 km; oil

1,003 km; refined products 757 km (2004)

China

gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)

Colombia

gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2004)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

gas 54 km; oil 71 km (2004)

Congo, Republic of the

gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004)

Costa Rica

refined products 242 km (2004)

Cote d'Ivoire

condensate 107 km; gas 223 km; oil 104 km (2004)

Croatia

gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2004)

Cuba

gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2004)

Czech Republic

gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km

(2004)

Denmark

condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2

km; unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004)

Ecuador

extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined

products 1,185 km (2004)

Egypt

condensate 289 km; condensate/gas 94 km; gas 6,115 km; liquid

petroleum gas 852 km; oil 5,032 km; oil/gas/water 36 km; refined

products 246 km (2004)

Equatorial Guinea

condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4

km; oil 24 km (2004)

Estonia

gas 859 km (2004)

Finland

gas 694 km (2004)

France

gas 14,232 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2004)

Gabon

gas 210 km; oil 1,385 km (2004)

Georgia

gas 1,697 km; oil 1,027 km; refined products 232 km (2004)

Germany

condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined

products 3,827 km (2004)

Ghana

refined products 74 km (2004)

Greece

gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2004)

Guatemala

oil 480 km (2004)

Hungary

gas 4,397 km; oil 990 km; refined products 335 km (2004)

India

gas 6,171 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,195 km; oil 5,613 km;

refined products 5,567 km (2004)

Indonesia

condensate 850 km; condensate/gas 128 km; gas 8,506 km;

oil 7,472 km; oil/gas/water 66 km; refined products 1,329 km (2004)

Iran

condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570

km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004)

Iraq

gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004)

Ireland

gas 1,795 km (2004)

Israel

gas 140 km; oil 1,509 km (2004)

Italy

gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 km (2004)

Japan

gas 2,719 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2004)

Jordan

gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2004)

Kazakhstan

condensate 18 km; gas 10,370 km; oil 10,158 km; refined

products 1,187 km (2004)

Kenya

refined products 752 km (2004)

Korea, North

oil 154 km (2004)

Korea, South

gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004)

Kuwait

gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004)

Kyrgyzstan

gas 367 km; oil 13 km (2004)

Laos

refined products 540 km (2004)

Latvia

gas 1,097 km; oil 409 km; refined products 415 km (2004)

Lebanon

oil 209 km (2004)

Libya

condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004)

Liechtenstein

gas 20 km (2004)

Lithuania

gas 1,696 km; oil 331 km; refined products 109 km (2004)

Luxembourg

gas 155 km (2004)

Macedonia

gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2004)

Malaysia

condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined

products 114 km (2004)

Mexico

crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural

gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km (2003)

Moldova

gas 606 km (2004)

Morocco

gas 695 km; oil 285 km (2004)

Mozambique

gas 649 km; refined products 292 km (2004)

Netherlands

condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined

products 716 km (2004)

New Zealand

gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km;

refined products 304 km (2004)

Nicaragua

oil 54 km (2004)

Nigeria

condensate 105 km; gas 1,896 km; oil 3,638 km; refined

products 3,626 km (2004)

Norway

condensate 411 km; gas 6,199 km; oil 2,213 km; oil/gas/water

746 km; unknown (oil/water) 38 km (2004)

Oman

gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004)

Pakistan

gas 9,945 km; oil 1,821 km (2004)

Papua New Guinea

oil 264 km (2004)

Peru

gas 388 km; oil 1,557 km; refined products 13 km (2004)

Philippines

gas 565 km; oil 135 km; refined products 100 km (2004)

Poland

gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004)

Portugal

gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2004)

Qatar

condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid

petroleum gas 87 km; oil 702 km; oil/gas/water 41 km (2004)

Romania

gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)

Russia

condensate 122 km; gas 150,007 km; oil 75,539 km; refined

products 13,771 km (2004)

Saudi Arabia

condensate 212 km; gas 1,780 km; liquid petroleum gas

1,191 km; oil 5,068 km; refined products 1,162 km (2004)

Senegal

gas 564 km (2004)

Serbia and Montenegro

gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2004)

Singapore

gas 139 km (2004)

Slovakia

gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004)

Slovenia

gas 2,526 km; oil 11 km (2004)

South Africa

condensate 100 km; gas 1,052 km; oil 847 km; refined

products 1,354 km (2004)

Spain

gas 7,306 km; oil 730 km; refined products 3,512 km (2004)

Sudan

gas 156 km; oil 2,365 km; refined products 810 km (2004)

Suriname

oil 51 km (2004)

Sweden

gas 798 km (2004)

Switzerland

gas 1,831 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2004)

Syria

gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)

Taiwan

condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004)

Tajikistan

gas 541 km; oil 38 km (2004)

Tanzania

gas 29 km; oil 866 km (2004)

Thailand

gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004)

Trinidad and Tobago

condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km

(2004)

Tunisia

gas 3,059 km; oil 1,203 km; refined products 345 km (2004)

Turkey

gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004)

Turkmenistan

gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)

Ukraine

gas 20,069 km; oil 4,540 km; refined products 4,169 km (2004)

United Arab Emirates

condensate 469 km; gas 2,655 km; liquid

petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,936 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2004)

United Kingdom

condensate 370 km; gas 21,446 km; liquid petroleum

gas 59 km; oil 6,420 km; oil/gas/water 63 km; refined products 4,474

km (2004)

United States

petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km

(2003)

Uruguay

gas 192 km (2004)

Uzbekistan

gas 9,149 km; oil 869 km; refined products 33 km (2004)

Venezuela

extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,262 km; oil 7,360 km;

refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2004)

Vietnam

condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined

products 206 km (2004)

Yemen

gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004)

Zambia

oil 771 km (2004)

Zimbabwe

refined products 261 km (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

======================================================================

@2118 Political parties and leaders

Afghanistan

note - includes only political parties approved by the

Ministry of Justice: Afghan Millat [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; De

Afghanistan De Solay Ghorzang Gond [Shahnawaz TANAI]; De Afghanistan

De Solay Mili Islami Gond [Shah Mahmood Polal ZAI]; Harakat-e-Islami

Afghanistan [Mohammad Asif MOHSINEE];

Hezb-e-Aarman-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Iihaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE];

Hezb-e-Aazadee Afghanistan [Abdul MALIK]; Hezb-e-Adalat-e-Islami

Afghanistan [Mohammad Kabeer MARZBAN]; Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Wahid

[Mohammad Wasil RAHEEMEE]; Hezb-e-Afghan Watan Islami Gond [NA

leader]; Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan [Lateef PIDRAM];

Hezb-e-Falah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad ZAREEF];

Hezb-e-Libral-e-Aazadee Khwa-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ajmal SOHAIL];

Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Jamil

KARZAI]; Hezb-e-Hamnbatagee-e-Afghanistan [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT];

Hezb-e-Harakat-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Afghanistan [Moahammad Nadir AATASH];

Hezb-e-Harak-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ilhaj Said Hssain

ANWARY]; Hezb-e-Ifazat Az Uqoq-e-Bashar Wa Inkishaf-e-Afghanistan

[Baryalai NASRATEE]; Hezb-e-Istiqlal-e-Afghanistan [Dr. Gh. Farooq

NIJZRABEE]; Hezb-e-Jamhoree Khwahan [Sibghatullah SANJAR];

Hezb-e-Kar Wa Tawsiha-e-Afghanistan [Zulfiar OMID]; Hezb-e-Mili

Afghanistan [Abdul Rasheed AARYAN]; Hezb-e-Mili

Wahdat-e-Aqwam-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANEE];

Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Ahmad Wali MASOUD];

Hezb-e-Paiwand-e-Mili Afghanistan [Said Mansoor NADIRI];

Hezb-e-Rastakhaiz-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Said ZAHIR];

Hezb-e-Refah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mia Gul WASEEQ];

Hezb-e-Risalat-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Noor Aqa ROEEN];

Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ];

Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mili Wa Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Usman

SALIGZADA]; Hezb-e-Sulh-e-Mili Islami Aqwam-e-Afghanistan [Abdul

Qahir SHARYATEE]; Hezb-e-Sulh Wa Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul

Qadir IMAMEE]; Hezb-e-Tafahum-e-Wa Democracy Afghanistan [Ahamad

SHAHEEN]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Karim

KHALILI]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Haji Mohammad

MUHAQIQ]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Rasheed Jalili];

Jamahat-ul-Dahwat ilal Qurhan-wa-Sunat-ul-Afghanistan [Mawlawee

Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Jombesh-e Milli [Abdul Rashjid DOSTUM];

Mahaz-e-Mili Islami Afghanistan [Said Ahmad GAILANEE]; Majmah-e-Mili

Fahaleen-e-Sulh-e-Afghanistan [Shams ul Haq Noor SHAMS];

Nuhzat-e-Aazadee Wa democracy Afghanistan [Abdul Raqeeb Jawid

KUHISTANEE]; Nuhzat-e-Hambastagee Mili Afghanistan [Peer Said Ishaq

GAILANEE]; Sazman-e-Islami Afghanistan-e-Jawan [Siad Jawad

HUSSAINEE]; Tahreek Wahdat-e-Mili [Sultan Mahmood DHAZI] (30 Sep

2004)

Albania

Agrarian Environmentalist Party or PAA [Lufter XHUVELI];

Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nikolle LESI]; Communist Party of

Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI]; Democratic Alliance Party or PAD

[Neritan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Legality

Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIU]; Liberal Union Party or PBL

[Arjan STAROVA]; National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or PBK

[Adriatik ALIMADHI]; New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO]; Party

of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI]; Renewed Democratic Party

or PDR [Dashamir SHEHI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU];

Social Democracy Party or PDS [Paskal MILO]; Social Democratic Party

or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI

[Ilir META]; Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albanian Party of

Labor) [Fatos NANO]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel

DULE]

Algeria

Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Democratic

National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman]; Islamic Salvation

Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr. Abassi

MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exiled in Germany)]; National Entente

Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN

[Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general (also serves as Foreign

Minister)]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN)

[Abdellah DJABALLAH]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Yacine

TERKMANE]; Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS]; Rally for

Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general];

Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Social

Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS

[Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exiled in Switzerland)];

Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boujerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party

or PT [Louisa HANOUN]

note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted

in March 1997

American Samoa

Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party

[leader NA]

Andorra

Andorran Democratic Center Party or CDA (formerly Democratic

Party or PD) [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Andorra or PLA (formerly

Liberal Union or UL) [Albert PINTAT]; Social Democratic Party or PS

(formerly part of National Democratic Group or AND) [leader NA]

Angola

Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA];

National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed

leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the

Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA], largest

opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular

Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS

SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or

PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]

note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections

but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National

Assembly

Anguilla

Anguilla United Movement or AUM [Hubert HUGHES]; The United

Front or UF [Osbourne FLEMING, Victor BANKS], a coalition of the

Anguilla Democratic Party or ADP and the Anguilla National Alliance

or ANA; Anguilla Patriotic Movement or APM [Quincy GUMBS]; Movement

for Grassroots Democracy or MFGD [Joyce KENTISH, John BENJAMIN]

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD];

Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United

Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three

opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP,

Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor

Movement or PLM)

Argentina

Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO];

Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Front

for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition)

[Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad

coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader

NA]; Justicialist Party or PJ [leader NA] (Peronist umbrella

political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS];

Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY];

Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia

BULLRICH]; several provincial parties

Armenia

Agro-Industrial Party [Vladimir BADALIAN]; Armenia Party

[Myasnik MALKHASYAN]; Armenian National Movement or ANM [Alex

ARZUMANYAN, chairman]; Armenian Ramkavar Liberal Party or HRAK

[Harutyun MIRZAKHANYAN, chairman]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation

("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Vahan HOVHANISSIAN]; Democratic Party

[Aram SARKISYAN]; Justice Bloc (comprised of the Democratic Party,

National Democratic Party, National Democratic Union, and the

People's Party); National Democratic Party [Shavarsh KOCHARIAN];

National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; National Unity

Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; People's Party of Armenia

[Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republic Party [Albert BAZEYAN and Aram

SARKISYAN, chairmen]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN];

Rule of Law Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; Union of

Constitutional Rights [Hrant KHACHATURYAN]; United Labor Party

[Gurgen ARSENIAN]

Aruba

Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban

Democratic Alliance or Aliansa [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party

or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert

CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban

People's Party or AVP [Jan (Henny) H. EMAN]; Concentration for the

Liberation of Aruba or CLA [leader NA]; People's Electoral Movement

Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or

PARA [Urbana LOPEZ]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro

KELLY]

Australia

Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor

Party [Mark LATHAM]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES];

Country Liberal Party [Terry MILLS]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN];

Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [John ANDERSON];

One Nation Party [Len HARRIS]

Austria

Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL];

Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic

Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander

VAN DER BELLEN]

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KARIMLI, leader of

"Reform" faction; Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU, leader of "Classic"

faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic

Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA

[Ramiz AHMADOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Party

for Azerbaijan or DPA [Rasul QULIYEV, chairman]; Justice Party

[Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat

HACIYEVA]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or

NAP [vacant]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA

[Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan

or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV]

note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties

Bahamas, The

Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST];

Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]

Bahrain

political parties prohibited but politically oriented

societies are allowed

Bangladesh

Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist

Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party

or BNP [Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti

Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI];

Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD];

Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]

Barbados

Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor

Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll]

Belarus

Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian

Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian

Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal

Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports

Party; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk

VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or

BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic

Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party

or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB

[Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina

MATUSEVICH, chairperson]

note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr

BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active

Belgium

Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD & V [Jo VANDEURZEN];

Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK,

Claude BROUIR]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Bart SOMERS];

Flemish Socialist Party.Alternative or SP.A [Steve STEVAERT];

Francophone Humanist and Democratic Center of CDH [Joelle MILQUET];

Francophone Reformist Movement or MR [Didier REYNDERS]; Francophone

Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV,

Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA]; National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; New

Flemish Alliance or NVA [Bart DE WEVER]; Spirit [Els VAN WEERT];

note - new party now associated with SP.A; Vlaams Belang or VB

[Frank VANHECKE]; other minor parties

Belize

People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic

Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party

chairman]

Benin

African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African

Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN];

Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU];

Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic

Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and

Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress

and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA];

Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small

parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The

Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's

Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]

note: approximately 20 additional minor parties

Bermuda

Gombey Liberation Party or GLP [Gavin Sundjata SMITH];

National Liberal Party or NLP [Dessaline WALDRON]; Progressive Labor

Party or PLP [William Alexander SCOTT]; United Bermuda Party or UBP

[Grant GIBBONS];

Bhutan

no legal parties

Bolivia

Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic

Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or

MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or

VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR

[Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES];

Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist

Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez];

Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New

Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous

Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres

JUSTINIANO]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or

SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic

Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croatian Democratic Union

of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Barisa COLAK]; Croat Christian

Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Mijo

IVANIC-LONIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRISTIC]; Croat

Peasants Party or HSS [Marko TADIC]; Democratic National Union or

DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC];

New Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and

Herzegovina or SBiH [Safet HALILOVIC]; Party of Democratic Action or

SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen

IVANIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan CAVIC - acting]; Serb

Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Milanko MIHAJLICA];

Serb Radical Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj or SRS-VS [Radislav

KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko

LAGUMDZIJA]; Social Democratic Union or SDU [Miro LAZOVIC];

Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC]

Botswana

Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Seretse Ian KHAMA];

Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress

Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or

BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]

note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the

BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties

are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the

Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana

Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE]