Cote d'Ivoire Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to weather conditions and to fluctuations in international prices for these products. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, engaging roughly 68% of the population. Growth was negative in 2000-03 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, foreign divestment and civil war. Political turmoil has continued to damage the economy since 2004, with a rising risk premium associated with doing business in the country, foreign investment shriveling, transportation costs increasing, French businesses fleeing, and criminal elements that traffic in weapons and diamonds gaining ground. The government will continue to survive financially off of the sale of cocoa, which represents 90% of foreign exchange earnings, but the government will probably lose between 10% and 20% of its cocoa harvest to northern rebels who smuggle the cocoa they control to neighboring countries where cocoa prices are higher. The government remains hopeful that ongoing exploration of Cote d'Ivoire's offshore oil reserves will result in significant production that could boost daily crude output from roughly 33,000 barrels per day (b/d) to more than 200,000 b/d by the end of the decade.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$29.05 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$17.19 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,600 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 27.7%
industry: 22.2%
services: 50.1% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
6.799 million (68% agricultural) (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:
13% in urban areas (1998)

Population below poverty line:
37% (1995)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 34% (2002)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.6 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.4% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
8.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.209 billion
expenditures: $3.713 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
82.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

Industries:
foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity, ship construction and repair

Industrial production growth rate:
15% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production:
5.305 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
2.9 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
1.397 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
32,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
23,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
220 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
1.247 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.247 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
27.16 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$529.1 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$8.191 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish

Exports - partners:
France 18.3%, Netherlands 9.7%, US 9.1%, Nigeria 7.2%, Germany 4.2% (2006)

Imports:
$5.039 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Nigeria 27.6%, France 25.4%, China 4.3% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $119.1 million (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.798 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$10.9 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$4.155 billion (2006)

Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)