Guinea-Bissau:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Guinea-Bissau:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition One of the five poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. Offshore oil prospecting is underway in several sectors but has not yet led to commercially viable crude deposits. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06. Higher raw material prices boosted growth to 3.7% in 2007.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $808 million (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $343 million (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 2.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 62% industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.)
Labor force	Definition 480,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: 82% industry and services: 18% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Population below poverty line	Definition NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 3.8% (2007 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Agriculture - products	Definition rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Industries	Definition agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 4.7% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 60 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 55.8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 37.2 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	Definition 0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 2,480 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 1.6 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 2,463 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map -$6 million (2007 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $133 million f.o.b. (2006)
Exports - commodities	Definition cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners	Definition India 76.5%, Nigeria 19%, South Korea 0.9% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $200 million f.o.b. (2006)
Imports - commodities	Definition foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Definition Portugal 21.9%, Senegal 17.2%, France 6.2%, Pakistan 4.8% (2006)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $941.5 million (2000 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares	Definition $NA
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $79.12 million (2005)
Currency (code)	Definition Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Exchange rates	Definition Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Fiscal year	Definition calendar year

Guinea-Bissau: Economy

Guinea-Bissau:
Economy