n sales to sustain its
inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In
1998-2004, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate
export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive
short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports
rose by perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of
higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the
near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty,
the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil
and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented
reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and
GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In
particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain.

Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos economy is based on
tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital
goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the
leading source of tourists, accounting for more than half of the
annual 93,000 visitors in the late 1990s. Major sources of
government revenue also include fees from offshore financial
activities and customs receipts.

Tuvalu
Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of
nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral
resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the
primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average,
visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the
sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000
Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has
begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources
decline. Substantial income is received annually from an
international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and
the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise
investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund has grown from
an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US
government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of
payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its
dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector
reforms, including privatization of some government functions and
personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue