Cote d'Ivoire Economy 2001

Economy - overview: 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 largely 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 in 1996-99. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. In 2001-02, a moderate rebound in the cocoa market could boost growth back above 3%; however, political instability could impede growth again.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -0.3% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 32%
industry: 18%
services: 50% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.8% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 68% agricultural (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13% in urban areas (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (2000 est.)

Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production: 4.06 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 75.37%
hydro: 24.63%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 3.183 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 593 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: cocoa 33%, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish (1999)

Exports - partners: France 15%, US 8%, Netherlands 7%, Germany 6%, Italy 6% (1999)

Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods; capital goods, fuel, transport equipment

Imports - partners: France 26%, Nigeria 10%, China 7%, Italy 5%, Germany 4% (1999)

Debt - external: $13.9 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $1 billion (1996 est.)

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

Currency code: XOF

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Cote d'Ivoire on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cote d'Ivoire Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cote d'Ivoire Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.