power parity - $30.99 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.4% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.4%
industry: 31.2%
services: 59.3% (2003)

Investment (gross fixed):
16.2% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
48% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.3% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
52.2 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2.62 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.5% - but the economy has much underemployment (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.434 billion
expenditures: $2.625 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
43.7% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp;
beef, dairy products

Industries:
food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer,
textiles, furniture, light metals

Industrial production growth rate:
1.6% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
3.729 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
3.777 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
44 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
353 million kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
39,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-734 million (2003)

Exports:
$3.162 billion (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles,
chemicals, electricity

Exports - partners:
US 67.8%, Guatemala 11.5%, Honduras 5.9% (2003)

Imports:
$5.466 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs,
petroleum, electricity

Imports - partners:
US 50%, Guatemala 8.1%, Mexico 5.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$2.061 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$6.575 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
total $252 million; $57 million from US (1995)

Currency:
US dollar (USD)

Currency code:
USD

Exchange rates:
the US dollar is the legal tender

Fiscal year:
calendar year

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