Equatorial Guinea Economy - 2006

Economy - overview:
The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2005, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the second highest per capita income in the world, after Luxembourg.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$25.69 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$7.644 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
18.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$50,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 95.5%
services: 2.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
30% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
46.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.973 billion
expenditures: $711.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber

Industries:
petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate:
30% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
29.43 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
27.37 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
420,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1,200 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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

Natural gas - production:
1.27 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.27 billion cu m (2003 est.)

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
36.81 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$1.364 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$6.727 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa

Exports - partners:
US 29.1%, China 22.6%, Spain 15.9%, Taiwan 14.8%, Canada 6.8% (2004)

Imports:
$1.864 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum sector equipment, other equipment

Imports - partners:
US 32.2%, Spain 16.5%, France 10.5%, UK 9.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.4%, Italy 5.2% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.078 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$248 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

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 - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)