| People | Republic of the Congo |
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Economy - overview:
|
The economy is a mixture of subsistance agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on oil, and support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, the reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. Economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$13.97 billion (2007 est.) |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$6.848 billion (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
2.8% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$3,700 (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1%
services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
31.5% of GDP (2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
void |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
7% (2007 est.) |
Labor force:
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NA |
Labor force participation rate:
|
void |
Labor force - by occupation:
|
void |
Unemployment rate:
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NA% |
Budget:
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revenues: $3.639 billion
expenditures: $2.104 billion (2007 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
|
933 USD per capita |
Public debt:
|
void |
Industries:
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petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-1% (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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7.341 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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1,881 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
|
5.272 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
1,351 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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1.8 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports:
|
6 million kWh (2005) |
Oil - production:
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235,900 bbl/day |
Oil - production per capita:
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60,436 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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7,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
0.65 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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11,410 bbl/day (2004) |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
1.506 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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115.1 million cu m (2005 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
30 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
115.1 million cu m (2005 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
30 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2005) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
86.9 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
|
cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Current account balance:
|
$1.094 billion (2007 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
281 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$6.455 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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1,654 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners:
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US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) |
Imports:
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$1.724 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
Imports per capita:
|
442 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners:
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France 23.5%, China 13.2%, US 7.6%, India 7%, Italy 5.6%, Belgium 5.3% (2006) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$2.242 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
575 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
|
$5 billion (2000 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
1,281 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA |
Economic aid - donor:
|
void |
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$1.449 billion (2005) |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
372 USD per capita |
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 - 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
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