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):

$12.86 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$7.657 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

-1.6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$3,400 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1%
services: 37.3% (2006 est.)

Labor force:

NA

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Investment (gross fixed):

40.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $3.295 billion
expenditures: $2.444 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.7% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

15% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$1.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$204.3 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

NA

Agriculture - products:

cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee,
cocoa; forest products

Industries:

petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil,
soap, flour, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate:

-12% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

444 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

564 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

411 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 0.3%
hydro: 99.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

261,000 bbl/day

Oil - consumption:

7,677 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

230,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports:

1,702 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.6 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

180 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

180 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

N