Economy Of Congo, Republic of the
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Economy overview
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The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, 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, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. 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. However, 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 problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
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GDP
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purchasing power parity - $2.148 billion (2004 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate
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1.3% (2004 est.)
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GDP - per capita
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purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector
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agriculture: 6.9%
industry: 53.9%
services: 39.2% (2004 est.)
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Investment gross fixed
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31.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Population below poverty line
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NA
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Household income or consumption by percentage share
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lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
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Distribution of family income - Gini index
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Inflation rate consumer prices
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2.4% (2004 est.)
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Labor force
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NA (2000 est.)
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Labor force by occupation
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Unemployment rate
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NA (2003)
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Budget
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revenues: $1.025 billion
expenditures: $946.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
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Public debt
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Agriculture products
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cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products
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Industries
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petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
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Industrial production growth rate
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0% (2002 est.)
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Electricity production
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358.1 million kWh (2001)
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Electricity production by source
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fossil fuel: 0.3%
hydro: 99.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity consumption
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633 million kWh (2001)
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Electricity exports
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity imports
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300 million kWh (2001)
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Oil production
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275,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
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Oil consumption
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5,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil exports
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NA (2001)
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Oil imports
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NA (2001)
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Oil proved reserves
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93.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
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Natural gas production
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas consumption
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas exports
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas imports
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas proved reserves
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495.5 million cu m (1 January 2002)
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Current account balance
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$139.2 million (2004 est.)
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Exports
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$2.293 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
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Exports commodities
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petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
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Exports partners
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China 28.6%, Taiwan 19.3%, US 16%, South Korea 12.9% (2003)
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Imports
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$666.9 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
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Imports commodities
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capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
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Imports partners
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France 22.2%, US 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, China 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4% (2003)
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Reserves of foreign exchange gold
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$44.53 million (2004 est.)
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Debt external
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$5 billion (2000 est.)
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Economic aid recipient
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$159.1 million (1995)
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Currency
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Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
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Currency code
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XAF
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Exchange rates
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Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999)
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Fiscal year
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calendar year
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This information was reproduced in part from the CIA World Fact book.
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