Congo, Republic of the
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| Introduction - Congo, Republic of the: | | Location - Congo, Republic of the: | | People - Congo, Republic of the: | | Government - Congo, Republic of the: | | Economy - Congo, Republic of the: | Economy overview | 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 through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, 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. Economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republics budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economys GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo. | | Gdp purchasing power parity | $5.099 billion (2006 est.) | | Gdp official exchange rate | $5.163 billion (2006 est.) | | Gdp real growth rate | 7.5% (2006 est.) | | Gdp per capita ppp | $1,400 (2006 est.) | | Gdp composition by sector | agriculture: 6.2%
industry: 55.3%
services: 38.5% (2006 est.) | | Labor force | NA | | Unemployment rate | NA% | | Population below poverty line | NA% | | Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% | | Inflation rate consumer prices | 2.6% (2006 est.) | | Investment gross fixed | 27.2% of GDP (2006 est.) | | Budget | revenues: $2.985 billion
expenditures: $1.664 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) | | Agriculture products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | | Industries | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes | | Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2002 est.) | | Electricity production | 6.847 billion kWh (2004) | | Electricity consumption | 5.127 billion kWh (2004) | | Electricity exports | 1.25 billion kWh (2004) | | Electricity imports | 9 million kWh (2004) | | Oil production | 267,100 bbl/day (2005 est.) | | Oil consumption | 6,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | | Oil exports | NA bbl/day | | Oil imports | NA bbl/day | | Oil proved reserves | 1.506 billion bbl (1 January 2005) | | Natural gas production | 0 cu m (2004 est.) | | Natural gas consumption | 0 cu m (2004 est.) | | Natural gas exports | 0 cu m (2004 est.) | | Natural gas imports | 0 cu m (2004 est.) | | Natural gas proved reserves | 90.61 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) | | Current account balance | $1.215 billion (2006 est.) | | Exports | $5.996 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | | Exports commodities | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | | Exports partners | US 38.1%, China 33.3%, Taiwan 10.2%, South Korea 6.2% (2006) | | Imports | $1.964 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | | Imports commodities | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | | Imports partners | France 23.5%, China 13.1%, US 7.5%, India 6.9%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) | | Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $547 million (2006 est.) | | Debt external | $5 billion (2000 est.) | | Economic aid recipient | $159.1 million (1995) | | Currency code | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | | Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) | |
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This page was last updated on 16 September, 2007
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