st side by a
yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower
triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy

Economy - overview: 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 about 90% 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. Subsequently, falling
oil prices cut GDP growth by half. Moreover, the government has
mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to
the government's 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. Recent efforts to implement economic
reforms have begun to show progress; the government and the IMF signed
an aid agreement in mid-1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.9% (1995 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,960 (1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 35.2%
services: 53.4% (1993)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 3% (1996 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues : $870 million
expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1997 est.)

Industries: petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing,
sugar milling, palm oil, soap, cigarette making

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 165,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 440 million kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 223 kWh (1994 est.)

Agriculture - products: cassava (tapioca) accounts for 90% of food
output, sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest
products

Exports:
total value: $952 million (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: crude oil 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee,
diamonds
partners: Belgium-Luxembourg 24.3%, Taiwan 20.2%, US 14.9%, Italy
14.8% (1995 est.)

Imports:
total value: $559 million (f.o.b. 1994)
commodities : intermediate manufactures, capital equipment,
construction materials, foodstuffs, petroleum produ