Congo, Republic of the Economy - 2005

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, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. 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. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.324 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 52%
services: 40.6% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
NA (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
25.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $870.1 million
expenditures: $1.102 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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:
348 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
573.6 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
250 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
227,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
5,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

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

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

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

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
495.5 million cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$266 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$2.224 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds

Exports - partners:
China 30.8%, US 18.2%, Taiwan 16.8%, South Korea 11.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 5.6% (2004)

Imports:
$749.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
France 20.2%, China 6.6%, Italy 6.5%, India 4.8%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.6% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$40.42 million (2004 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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)