Sudan Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems, starting from its low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped sustain GDP growth at 6.4% in 2004. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force, contributing 39% of GDP, and accounting for most of GDP growth, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability - including the long-standing civil war between the Muslim north and the Christian/pagan south, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $76.19 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.4% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 38.7%
industry: 20.3%
services: 41% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
11 million (1996 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
18.7% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
40% (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
16% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.057 billion
expenditures: $2.965 billion, including capital expenditures of $304 million (2004 est.)

Public debt:
79.7% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock

Industries:
oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly

Industrial production growth rate:
8.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production:
2.581 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
2.4 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
345,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
70,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
275,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.6 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
99.11 billion cu m (2004)

Current account balance:
$-763.6 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$3.395 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

Exports - partners:
China 64.3%, Japan 13.8%, Saudi Arabia 3.7% (2004)

Imports:
$3.496 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat

Imports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 11.7%, China 10.7%, UAE 6.2%, Egypt 5.2%, Germany 4.9%, India 4.6%, Australia 4.1%, UK 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.652 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$21 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$172 million (2001)

Currency (code):
Sudanese dinar (SDD)

Exchange rates:
Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.91 (2004), 260.98 (2003), 263.31 (2002), 258.7 (2001), 257.12 (2000)