Equatorial Guinea Economy
Economy - overviewThe 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 unsuccessfully 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 will remain strong in 2004, led by oil.
GDP
purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
20% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60%
services: 2.4% (2003 est.)
Investment
63.6% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate
6% (2003 est.)
Labor force
NA (October 2000)
Unemployment rate
30% (1998 est.)
Budget
revenues: $708.5 million
expenditures: $317.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 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
23.56 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption
21.91 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production
181,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports
NA (2001)
Oil - imports
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves
563.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production
20 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
20 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
68.53 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-1.168 billion (2003)
Exports
$2.1 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners
US 33.6%, Spain 25.8%, China 14.4%, Canada 11.8%, Italy 6.4% (2003)
Imports
$1.371 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities
petroleum sector equipment, other equipment
Imports - partners
US 30.6%, UK 16%, France 15.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.9%, Spain 8.1%, Norway 5.9%, Italy 5.3% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold
$206 million (2003)
Debt - external
$248 million (2000 est.)
Currency
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code
XAF
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
