Equatorial Guinea Economy 2001

Economy - overview: 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 deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of the government's gross corruption and mismanagement. 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. The country responded favorably to the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Boosts in production and high world oil prices stimulated growth in 2000, with oil accounting for 90% of greatly increased exports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $960 million (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 12% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60%
services: 20% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1999 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 30% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $47 million
expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.)

Industries: petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (1994 est.)

Electricity - production: 21 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 85.71%
hydro: 14.29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 19.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber

Exports: $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum, timber, cocoa

Exports - partners: US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997)

Imports: $300 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities: manufactured goods and equipment

Imports - partners: US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997)

Debt - external: $290 million (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $33.8 million (1995)

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

Currency code: XAF

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 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 XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Equatorial Guinea 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 Equatorial Guinea Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Equatorial Guinea Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.