Equatorial Guinea Economy - 2004

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 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.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
20% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 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% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
NA (October 2000)

Unemployment rate:
30% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries:
petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate:
30% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
23.56 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 94.3%
hydro: 5.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
21.91 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
181,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
563.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
20 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
20 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
68.53 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

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

Exports:
$2.1 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa

Exports - partners:
US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.5%, Canada 10.6%, France 5% (2002)

Imports:
$1.371 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum sector equipment, other equipment

Imports - partners:
US 27.8%, Spain 15.1%, UK 14.2%, Norway 10.7%, France 10%, Netherlands 4.6%, Italy 4.4% (2002)

Debt - external:
$248 million (2000 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 - 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999)