tance. Agriculture,
including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of
the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor
force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not
self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts
for the bulk of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade
education and technical training, to privatize commercial and
industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify
exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population
growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of
4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans
abroad help supplement GDP.

Congo, Democratic Republic of the:
The economy of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth
- has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The new government
instituted a tight fiscal policy that initially curbed inflation and
currency depreciation, but these small gains were quickly reversed
when the foreign-backed rebellion in the eastern part of the country
began in August 1998. The war has dramatically reduced national
output and government revenue and has increased external debt.
Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty
about the outcome of the conflict and because of increased
government harassment and restrictions. The war has intensified the
impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework,
corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government
economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World
Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a
coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold.

Congo, Republic of the:
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 a major share 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. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a
substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the
governmen