ence on the capital-intensive
oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange
earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues. The largely
subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid
population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and
the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import
food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August
2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club
and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic
reforms. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after
failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it
ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In
the last year the government has begun showing the political will to
implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to
modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking
excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the
distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the
government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the
privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted
the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a
domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty
Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In
November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal
that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in
payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37
billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to
stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2007, based largely on
increased oil exports and high global crude prices. Newly-elected
President YAR'ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of
his predecessor and the proposed budget for 2008 reflects the
administrations emphasis on infrastructure improvements.
Infrastructure is the main impediment to growth. The government is
working toward developing stronger public-private partnerships for
electricity and roads.

Niue
The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of
geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population.
Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall
is made up by critically needed grants from New Zeala