he Americas.
It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum
products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its
fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries
for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia,
Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly
for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped
in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western
Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production
comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and
offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering
countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand.

Indonesia
Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has restored financial
stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the Asian
financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain,
including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic
corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate,
and unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia became a
net oil importer in 2004 due to declining production and lack of new
exploration investment. As a result, Jakarta is not reaping the
benefits of high world oil prices, and the cost of subsidizing
domestic fuel prices has placed an increasing strain on the budget.
Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the
confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong
global economic growth. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took
nearly 127,000 lives, left more than 93,000 missing and nearly
441,000 displaced, and destroyed $4.5 to $5.0 billion worth of
property.

Iran
Iran's economy is marked by a bloated, inefficient state
sector, over reliance on the oil sector, and statist policies that
create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is
controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically
small-scale - workshops, farming, and services. President KHATAMI
has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President
RAFSANJANI, with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in
recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $30 billion in foreign
exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as
high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of t