onomy

Overview: The economy is based on family and corporate agriculture,
which accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force,
and supplies two-thirds of exports. Manufacturing, predominantly in
private hands, accounts for about 15% of GDP and 12% of the labor
force. In both 1990 and 1991, the economy grew by 3%, the fourth and
fifth consecutive years of mild growth. In 1992 growth picked up to
almost 5% as government policies favoring competition and foreign
trade and investment took stronger hold. In 1993-94, despite political
unrest, this momentum continued, foreign investment held up, and
annual growth was 4%.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $33 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $3,080 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.9%; underemployment 30%-40% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $604 million (1990)
expenditures: $808 million, including capital expenditures of $134
million (1990)

Exports: $1.38 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamon, beef
partners: US 30%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras

Imports: $2.6 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain,
fertilizers, motor vehicles
partners: US 44%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany

External debt: $2.2 billion ( 1992 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18%
of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 700,000 kW
production: 2.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 211 kWh (1993)

Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals,
petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP; most important sector of
economy; contributes two-thirds of export earnings; principal crops -
sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; livestock - cattle,
sheep, pigs, chickens; food importer

Illicit drugs: transit country for cocaine shipments; illicit producer
of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; the
government has an active eradication program for cannabis and opium
poppy

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $1.1 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $7.92 billion

Currency: 1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos

Exchang