Guadeloupe Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
The Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.513 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 17%
services: 68% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
125,900 (1997)

Labor force - by occupation:
NA

Unemployment rate:
27.8% (1998)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats

Industries:
construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
1.16 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
1.079 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Exports:
$140 million f.o.b. (1997)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, sugar, rum

Exports - partners:
France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (1999)

Imports:
$1.7 billion c.i.f. (1997)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (1999)

Debt - external:
$NA (yearend 2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004)

Currency (code):
euro (EUR)

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001), 1.0854 (2000)