Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country; 11% of the land
is intensely cultivated, in irrigated river valleys. More than 60%
of the population lives in densely populated rural communities.
Export of hydrocarbons, including natural gas and petroleum,
provided about 40% of foreign exchange earnings in 2009. Other major
export earners include gold and cotton. Uzbekistan is now the
world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer;
it has come under increasing international criticism for the use of
child labor in its annual cotton harvest. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan
enjoyed a bumper cotton crop in 2010 amidst record high prices.
Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to
prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight
controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to
improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors
measures that often increase, not decrease, its 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 Article VIII obligations under the
IMF, providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict
currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the
effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that
have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often
delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods.
Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil
industry, as well as increased cooperation with South Korea in the
realm of civil aviation, may boost growth prospects. However,
decreased demand for natural gas in Europe and Russia in the wake of
the global financial crisis could reduce energy-related revenues in
the near term. In November 2005, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN
and Uzbekistan President KARIMOV signed an "alliance," which
included provisions for economic and business cooperation. Russian
businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially
in mining, telecom, and oil and gas. In 2006, Uzbekistan took steps
to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the
Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), which it subsequently left in
2008, both organizations dominated by Russia. In the past Uzbek
authorities had accused US and other foreign companies operating in
Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek tax laws and have frozen their assets,
but no new expropriations occurred in 2008-09. Instead, the Uzbek
Government has actively courted several major U.S. and international
corporations, offering attractive financing and tax advantages, and
has landed a significant US investment in the automotive industry.
Although growth slowed in 2009-10, Uzbekistan has seen few other
effects from the global economic downturn, primarily due to its
relative isolation from the global financial markets.
Vanuatu
This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on
small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for about
two-thirds of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services,
and tourism, with nearly 197,000 visitors in 2008, 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. 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
through improved air connections, resort development, and cruise
ship facilities. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a
second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main
suppliers of tourists and foreign aid.
Venezuela
Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which
account for roughly 95% of export earnings, about 55% of the federal
budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. A nationwide strike between
December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic
consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003
- but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by
high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP by
about 10% in 2006, 8% in 2007, and nearly 5% in 2008, before a sharp
drop in oil prices caused a contraction in 2009-10. This spending,
combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to
domestic credit, has created a consumption boom but has come at the
cost of higher inflation - roughly 32% in 2008, and slowing only
slightly to 30% in 2010, despite the lengthy downturn. Imports also
jumped significantly before the recession of 2009. President Hugo
CHAVEZ's continued efforts to increase the government's control of
the economy by nationalizing firms in the agribusiness, financial,
construction, oil, and steel sectors have hurt the private
investment environment, reduced productive capacity, and slowed
non-petroleum exports. In the first half of 2010 Venezuela faced the
prospect of lengthy nationwide blackouts when its main hydroelectric
power plant - which provides more than 35% of the country's
electricity - nearly shut down. In January, 2010, CHAVEZ announced a
dual exchange rate system for the bolivar and closed the unofficial
foreign exchange market - the "parallel" market - in an effort to
stem inflation and slow the currency's depreciation. The foreign
exchange system offers a 2.6 bolivar per dollar rate for imports of
essentials, including food, medicine, and industrial machinery, and
a 4.3 bolivar per dollar rate for imports of other products,
including cars and telephones.
Vietnam
Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that in
the last 30 years 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. Vietnamese authorities
have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and
international integration. They have moved to implement the
structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce
more competitive export-driven industries. Vietnam joined the WTO in
January 2007 following more than a decade-long negotiation process.
WTO membership has provided Vietnam an anchor to the global market
and reinforced the domestic economic reform process. Agriculture's
share of economic output has continued to shrink from about 25% in
2000 to about 21% in 2009. Deep poverty has declined significantly
and Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a
labor force that is growing by more than one million people every
year. The global recession has hurt Vietnam's export-oriented
economy with GDP growing less than the 7% per annum average achieved
during the last decade. In 2009 exports fell nearly 10%
year-on-year, prompting the government to consider adjustments to
tariffs to limit the trade deficit. The government has used stimulus
spending, including a subsidized lending program, to help the
economy through the global financial crisis. Vietnam's managed
currency, the dong, faced downward pressure during the recession and
the government devalued it by nearly 7% in December 2009. Foreign
donors pledged $8 billion in new development assistance for 2010.
Export growth resumed in 2010, driving GDP upward. However, Hanoi
has struggled to control one of the region's highest inflation
rates, which stands at 11.1% with interest hikes and multiple
devaluations of the dong. Vietnam's economy faces higher lending
rates, additional IMF scrutiny, domestic inflationary pressures, and
an underperforming stock market.
Virgin Islands
Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting
for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands hosted 2.4 million
visitors in 2008. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum
refining, rum distilling, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals,
and watch assembly. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries
is at Saint Croix. The agricultural sector is small, with most food
being imported. International business and financial services are
small but growing components of the economy. The islands are
vulnerable 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
military personnel and 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% of 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
The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the
Palestinian territories - experienced a high single-digit economic
growth rate in 2010 as a result of inflows of donor aid, the
Palestinian Authority's (PA) implementation of economic and security
reforms, and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by
the Israeli Government. Nevertheless, overall standard-of-living
measures remain near levels seen prior to the start of the second
intifada in 2000. The almost decade-long downturn largely has been a
result of Israeli closure policies - a steady increase in movement
and access restrictions across the West Bank in response to Israeli
security concerns which have disrupted labor and trade flows,
industrial capacity, and basic commerce, both external and internal.
Since 2008, the PA under President Mahmoud ABBAS and Prime Minister
Salam FAYYAD has implemented a largely successful campaign of
institutional reforms that has contributed to increased security and
economic performance, supported by more than $3 billion in direct
foreign donor assistance to the PA's budget since 2007. An easing of
some Israeli restrictions on West Bank movement and access since
2008 also has contributed to an uptick in retail activity in larger
cities. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West
Bank remain Palestinians' lack of access to land and resources in
Israeli-controlled areas, import and export restrictions, and a
high-cost capital structure. Absent robust private sector growth,
the PA will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary
needs.
Western Sahara
Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose
main indutries are fishing, phosphate mining, and pastoral nomadism.
The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture
difficult, and Wstern Sahara imports much of its food. The Moroccan
Government administers Western Sahara's economy and is a source of
employment, infrstructure development, and social spending in the
territory. Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the
exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between
Morocco and the Polisario. Morocco and the EU in July 2006 signed a
four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast
of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western
Sahara. Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially
significant quantities, but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled
over who has the right to authorize and benefit from oil exploration
in the territory. Western Sahara's main long-term economic challenge
is the development of a more diverse set of industries capable of
providing greater employment and income to the territory.
World
In 2010, world output - and per capita income - began to
recover from the 2008-09 recession, the first global downturn since
1946. Gross World Product (GWP) grew 4.6%, largely on the strength
of rebounding exports, which rose about 20% from the level of 2009.
Growth was not evenly distributed across countries, however. Lower
income countries - those with per capita incomes below $30,000 per
year - averaged 6.3% growth, while higher income countries - with
per capita incomes above $30,000 - averaged just 2.8% growth. And
countries with current account surpluses averaged 6.0% growth, while
those with current account deficits averaged just 3.4% growth. Among
large economies, China (+10.1%), Taiwan (+8.3%), India (+8.3%),
Brazil (+7.5%), and South Korea (+6.1%) recorded the biggest GDP
gains - China also became the world's largest exporter. Continuing
uncertainties in mortgage and financial markets resulted in slower
growth in Japan (+3.0%), the US (+2.8%), and the European Union
(+1.7%). In 2010, global unemployment continued to creep upwards,
reaching 8.8% - underemployment, especially in the developing world,
remained much higher. Global gross fixed investment stabilized at
about 23% of GWP, after a significant drop in 2009. World trade
appears to be returning to pre-2009 patterns, with current account
surpluses or deficits rising for a majority of countries. World
external debt, however, dropped again in 2010 - about 5% from the
2009 level, as many countries reduced borrowing. Many, if not most,
countries pursued expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. The
global money supply, both narrowly and broadly defined, increased
roughly 10%, as countries tried to keep interest rates low; the
global budget deficit stablilized at roughly $3.5 trillion, as
countries tried to rein in spending and slow the rise of public debt.
The international financial crisis of 2008-09 presents the world
economy with a major new challenge, together with several
long-standing ones. The fiscal stimulus packages put in place in
2009-10 required most countries to run budget deficits - government
balances have deteriorated for 14 out of every 15 countries.
Treasuries issued new public debt - totaling $5.5 trillion since
2008 - to pay for the additional expenditures. To keep interest
rates low, many central banks monetized that debt, injecting large
sums of money into the economies. As economic activity picks up,
central banks will face the difficult task of containing inflation
without raising interest rates so high they snuff out further
growth. At the same time, governments will face the difficult task
of spurring current growth and employment without saddling their
economies with so much debt that they sacrifice long-term growth and
financial stability.
Long-standing challenges the world faces are several. The addition
of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is
exacerbating the problems of underemployment, pollution,
waste-disposal, epidemics, water-shortages, famine, over-fishing of
oceans, deforestation, desertification, and depletion of
non-renewable resources. The nation-state, as a bedrock
economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over
international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology.
Internally, central governments often find their 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, central
governments are losing decisionmaking powers to international
bodies, most notably the EU. 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 the participating nations are culturally and
politically diverse and have varying levels and rates of growth of
income, and hence, differing needs for monetary and fiscal policies.
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.
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
an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The
terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a
growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the
reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist
programs. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan added new uncertainties to
global economic prospects.
Despite these challenges, the world economy also shows great
promise. Technology has made possible further advances in all
fields, from agriculture, to medicine, alternative energy,
metallurgy, and transportation. Improved global communications have
greatly reduced the costs of international trade, helping the world
gain from the international division of labor, raise living
standards, and reduce income disparities among nations. Much of the
resilience of the world economy in the aftermath of the financial
crisis resulted from government leaders around the globe working in
concert to stem the financial onslaught, knowing well the lessons of
past economic failures.
Yemen
Yemen is a low income country that is highly dependent on
declining oil resources for revenue. Petroleum accounts for roughly
25% of GDP and 70% of government revenue. Yemen has tried to counter
the effects of its declining oil resources by diversifying its
economy through an economic reform program initiated in 2006 that is
designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign
investment. In October 2009, Yemen exported its first liquefied
natural gas as part of this diversification effort. In January 2010,
the international community established the Friends of Yemen group
that aims to support Yemen's efforts towards economic and political
reform, and in August 2010 the IMF approved a three-year $370
million program to further this effort. Despite these ambitious
endeavors, Yemen continues to face difficult long term challenges,
including declining water resources and a high population growth
rate.
Zambia
Zambia's economy has experienced strong growth in recent
years, with real GDP growth in 2005-08 about 6% per year.
Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s 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 has
increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and
foreign investment. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under
the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, consisting of
approximately USD 6 billion in debt relief. Poverty remains a
significant problem in Zambia, despite a stronger economy. Declining
world commodity prices and demand slowed GDP growth in 2008, but a
sharp rebound in copper prices and a bumper maize crop helped Zambia
recover. Lack of economic diversity subjects Zambia to fluctuations
in copper prices and in the weather.
Zimbabwe
The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of
difficult economic problems. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of
dollars from the economy. 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, turning Zimbabwe
into a net importer of food products. The EU and the US provide food
aid on humanitarian grounds. Until early 2009, the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe routinely printed money to fund the budget deficit, causing
hyperinflation. The power-sharing government formed in February 2009
has led to some economic improvements, including the cessation of
hyperinflation by eliminating the use of the Zimbabwe dollar and
removing price controls. The economy is registering its first growth
in a decade, but will be reliant on further political improvement
for greater growth.
======================================================================
@2117
Field Listing :: Pipelines
This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for transporting
products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum products.
Country
Pipelines(km)
Afghanistan
gas 466 km (2009)
Albania
gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2009)
Algeria
condensate 1,937 km; gas 14,648 km; liquid petroleum gas
2,933 km; oil 7,579 km (2009)
Angola
gas 2 km; oil 87 km (2009)
Argentina
gas 28,248 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 5,977 km;
refined products 3,636 km (2009)
Armenia
gas 2,233 km (2009)
Australia
gas 27,105 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,258 km;
oil/gas/water 1 km (2009)
Austria
gas 2,721 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2009)
Azerbaijan
condensate 1 km; gas 3,361 km; oil 1,424 km (2009)
Bahrain
gas 20 km; oil 32 km (2009)
Bangladesh
gas 2,597 km (2009)
Belarus
gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2009)
Belgium
gas 1,330 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2009)
Bolivia
gas 5,192 km; liquid petroleum gas 51 km; oil 2,488 km;
refined products 1,590 km (2009)
Brazil
condensate/gas 62 km; gas 9,989 km; liquid petroleum gas 353
km; oil 4,517 km; refined products 4,465 km (2009)
Brunei
gas 37 km; oil 18 km (2009)
Bulgaria
gas 2,926 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2009)
Burma
gas 2,228 km; oil 558 km (2009)
Cameroon
oil 889 km (2009)
Canada
crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980
km (2009)
Chad
oil 250 km (2009)
Chile
gas 2,673 km; liquid petroleum gas 519 km; oil 892 km; refined
products 769 km (2009)
China
gas 32,545 km; oil 20,097 km; refined products 10,915 km (2009)
Colombia
gas 4,567 km; oil 6,097 km; refined products 3,382 km (2009)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
gas 37 km; oil 39 km; refined
products 756 km (2009)
Congo, Republic of the
gas 7 km; oil 211 km (2009)
Costa Rica
refined products 796 km (2009)
Cote d'Ivoire
condensate 86 km; gas 180 km; oil 92 km (2009)
Croatia
gas 1,327 km; oil 583 km (2009)
Cuba
gas 41 km; oil 230 km (2009)
Czech Republic
gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km
(2009)
Denmark
gas 2,858 km; oil 107 km (2009)
Ecuador
extra heavy crude 435 km; gas 5 km; oil 1,374 km; refined
products 1,301 km (2009)
Egypt
condensate 320 km; condensate/gas 13 km; gas 6,262 km; liquid
petroleum gas 956 km; oil 4,319 km; oil/gas/water 3 km; refined
products 895 km; unknown 59 km (2009)
Equatorial Guinea
gas 38 km (2009)
Estonia
gas 859 km (2009)
Finland
gas 694 km (2009)
France
gas 14,688 km; oil 2,943 km; refined products 5,080 km (2009)
Gabon
gas 240 km; oil 858 km (2009)
Georgia
gas 1,596 km; oil 1,258 km (2009)
Germany
gas 24,364 km; oil 3,379 km; refined products 3,843 km (2009)
Ghana
oil 5 km; refined products 309 km (2009)
Greece
gas 1,197 km; oil 75 km (2009)
Guatemala
oil 480 km (2009)
Hungary
gas 4,407 km; oil 987 km; refined products 335 km (2009)
India
condensate/gas 2 km; gas 7,542 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,163
km; oil 7,659 km; refined products 7,201 km (2009)
Indonesia
condensate 735 km; condensate/gas 73 km; gas 5,800 km; oil
5,721 km; oil/gas/water 12 km; refined products 1,370 km (2009)
Iran
condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 12 km; gas 19,246 km; liquid
petroleum gas 570 km; oil 7,018 km; refined products 7,936 km (2009)
Iraq
gas 2,501 km; liquid petroleum gas 918 km; oil 5,032 km;
refined products 1,637 km (2009)
Ireland
gas 1,550 km (2009)
Israel
gas 176 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2009)
Italy
gas 17,558 km; oil 1,241 km (2009)
Japan
gas 3,879 km; oil 167 km; oil/gas/water 53 km (2009)
Jordan
gas 439 km; oil 49 km (2009)