rporate and financial reforms had
stalled. Led by consumer spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an
impressive 7.0%, despite anemic global growth. Economic growth fell
to 3.1% in 2003 because of a downturn in consumer spending and
recovered to an estimated 4.6% in 2004 on the strength of rapid
export growth. The government plans to boost infrastructure spending
in 2005. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus,
and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid
economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$925.1 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.6% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 40.4%
services: 56.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
22.9 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
3.6% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
4% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
35.8 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
28.7% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $150.5 billion
expenditures: $155.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
21.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs,
chickens, milk, eggs; fish

Industries:
electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals,
shipbuilding, steel

Industrial production growth rate:
10.1% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
322.5 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 62.4%
hydro: 0.8%
nuclear: 36.6%
other: 0.2% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
293.6 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2.07 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
630,100 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports:
2.263 million bbl/day (2003)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
20.92 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
21.11 billion