rnment has been backing public works programs,
tax reforms, new regional trade agreements, and development of
tourism in order to stimulate growth. Unemployment remains at an
unacceptably high level.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $18.78 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.3%
industry: 14.7%
services: 77.1% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
37% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
48.5 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.19 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled
labor (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate:
13.8% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.995 billion
expenditures: $3.421 billion, including capital expenditures of $471
million (2003 est.)

Public debt:
73.3% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock;
shrimp

Industries:
construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other
construction materials, sugar milling

Industrial production growth rate:
7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
4.039 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
3.681 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
118 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
43 million kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
52,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-408 million (2003)

Exports:
$5.237 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999)

Exports - partners:
US 13.9%, Nigeria 9.8%, Germany 8.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Peru 5.1%,
Costa Rica 4.9%, Belgium 4.8%, Japan 4.5% (2003)

Imports:
$6.622 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
(1999)

Imports - partners:
Japan 33.2%, US 11.4%, China 9.1%, South Korea 7.7%, Singapore 7.1%
(2003)

Reserves o