of the 20 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. Trade reform and price liberalization are
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 have begun to reinvigorate the
economy. Inflation dropped sharply in the first quarter of 1997.
Membership in the WAMU (West African Monetary Union), begun in May
1997, should help support 5% annual growth and contribute to fiscal
discipline. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum,
phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$1.15 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$975 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 18%
services: 37% (1997 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 65% (1996)

Labor force: 480,000

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: $NA

Industries: agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate: 2.6% (1997 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 11,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 45 million kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 40 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew
nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; fishing and forest potential not
fully exploited

Exports:
total value: $25.8 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: cashews 95%, fish, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
(1994)
partners: Spain 35%, India 30%, Thailand 10%, Italy 10% (1995)

Imports:
total value: $63 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products,
machinery and equipment (1994)
partners: Thailand 27%, Portugal 23%, Japan 6%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%
(1995)

Debt-external: $953 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
centimes; note - on 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted as its currency
the CFA franc following its membership into the BCEAO

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1-608.36 (January 1998),
5