Madagascar Economy 2008

Economy - overview:
Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank- and IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the US. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$19.95 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$5.504 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 27.3%
industry: 15.8%
services: 56.8% (2007 est.)

Labor force:
7.3 million (2000)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
47.5 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
26.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.22 billion
expenditures: $1.555 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products

Industries:
meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
6% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.046 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
973.2 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
92 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
17,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
363.9 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
17,830 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

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

natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
-$1.145 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:
$1.027 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products

Exports - partners:
France 32.1%, US 25.3%, Germany 6.1%, Italy 5.1%, UK 4.1% (2006)

Imports:
$2.005 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:
France 13.9%, China 12%, Iran 9.3%, Mauritius 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.8% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$929.2 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$745 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:
$4.6 billion (2002)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

Currency (code):
Madagascar ariary (MGA)

Exchange rates:
Malagasy ariary per US dollar - 1,880 (2007), 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003)