the European Economic
and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the economic picture over
the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global
slowdown but picked up in 2004. High unemployment remains a
persistent problem.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$151.2 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 30.2%
services: 66.5% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.66 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture and forestry 8%, industry 22%, construction 6%,
commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%,
transport and communications 8%, public services 32%

Unemployment rate:
8.9% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 21.6% (1991)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
25.6 (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.7% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $96.43 billion
expenditures: $91.95 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
46.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish

Industries:
metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific
instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals,
textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate:
2% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
71.59 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 39%
hydro: 18.7%
nuclear: 30.4%
other: 11.8% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
78.58 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
1.5 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
13.5 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
211,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
101,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
318,300 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
4.557 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
4.567 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
$11.39 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$61.04 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports