g: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow
band, has been removed; now similar to the flags of Andorra and Chad
- Economy
Overview: Industry, which accounts for one-third of the labor force
and generates over half the GNP, suffers from an aging capital plant and
persistent shortages of energy. In recent years the agricultural sector
has had to contend with drought, mismanagement, and shortages of inputs.
Favorable weather in 1989 helped produce a good harvest, although far
below government claims. The new government is slowly loosening the tight
central controls of Ceausescu's command economy. It has instituted
moderate land reforms, with close to one-third of cropland now in
private hands, and it has allowed changes in prices for private
agricultural output. Also, the new regime is permitting the
establishment of private enterprises of 20 or fewer employees in
services, handicrafts, and small-scale industry. Furthermore, the
government has halted the old policy of diverting food from domestic
consumption to hard currency export markets. So far, the government
does not seem willing to adopt a thorough-going market system.
GNP: $79.8 billion, per capita $3,445; real growth rate - 1.5%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0% (1987)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $26 billion; expenditures $21.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $13.6 billion (1987)
Exports: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--machinery and
equipment 34.7%, fuels, minerals and metals 24.7%, manufactured consumer goods
16.9%, agricultural materials and forestry products 11.9%, other 11.6% (1986);
partners--USSR 27%, Eastern Europe 23%, EC 15%, US 5%, China 4% (1987)
Imports: $8.75 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--fuels, minerals,
and metals 51.0%, machinery and equipment 26.7%, agricultural and forestry
products 11.0%, manufactured consumer goods 4.2% (1986);
partners--Communist countries 60%, non-Communist countries 40% (1987)
External debt: none (mid-1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.6% (1988)
Electricity: 22,640,000 kW capacity; 80,000 million kWh produced,
3,440 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy,
chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP and 28% of labor force; major
wheat and corn producer;
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