ce
coverage, and other benefits. The years 1994-97 witnessed moderate
gains in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment
below 6%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic
infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population,
sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower
economic groups. The outlook for 1998 is for continued moderate
growth, low inflation, and about the same level of unemployment. Two
shadows for 1998 are the severe financial crises in East Asia and the
exuberant level of stock prices in relation to corporate earnings.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$8.083 trillion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 3.8% (1997)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$30,200 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 23%
services: 75% (1997 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 2% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 136.3 million (includes unemployed) (1997)
by occupation: managerial and professional 29.1%, technical, sales and
administrative support 29.6%, services 13.5%, manufacturing, mining,
transportation, and crafts 25.1%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.7%

Unemployment rate: 4.9% (1997)

Budget:
revenues: $1.579 trillion
expenditures: $1.601 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1997)

Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified
and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles,
aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food
processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining

Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (1997)

Electricity-capacity: 741.589 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 3.585 trillion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 13,732 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables,
cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish

Exports:
total value: $625.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw
materials, consumer goods, agricultural products
partners: Canada 22%, Western Europe 21%, Japan 11%, Mexico 8% (1995)

Imports:
total value: $822 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery,
automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and
beverages
partners: Canada, 20%, Western Europe 18%, Japan 16.5%, Mexico 8%
(1995)

Debt-external: $862 billion