els are higher now. GDP has
rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile
ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population
growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive
substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted
Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also
received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. The
government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce
poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and
domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although
energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of
adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to
handicap growth.

Saint Barthelemy
The economy of Saint Barthelemy is based upon
high-end tourism and duty-free luxury commerce, serving visitors
primarily from North America. The luxury hotels and villas host
70,000 visitors each year with another 130,000 arriving by boat. The
relative isolation and high cost of living inhibits mass tourism.
The construction and public sectors also enjoy significant
investment in support of tourism. With limited fresh water
resources, all food must be imported, as must all energy resources
and most manufactured goods. Employment is strong and attracts labor
from Brazil and Portugal.

Saint Helena
The economy depends largely on financial assistance
from the UK, which will amount to about $27 million in FY06/07 or
almost 70% of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns
income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts.
Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek
employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK.

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the
Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Following the 2005 harvest, the
government closed the sugar industry after decades of losses of 3-4%
of GDP annually. To compensate for employment losses, the government
has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and
to stimulate other sectors of the economy. Activities such as
tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have
assumed larger roles in the economy and have contributed to the
recent robust growth. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of
the islands