rage in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in 1992-95
largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late
1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring
speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Growth
picked up to 3.9% in 1996, largely a reflection of stimulative fiscal
and monetary policies as well as low rates of inflation. But in 1997
growth fell back to 1%. As a result of the expansionary fiscal
policies and declining tax revenues due to the recession, Japan has
one of the largest budget deficits as a percent of GDP among the
industrialized countries. The crowding of habitable land area and the
aging of the population are two other major long-run problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$3.08 trillion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 0.9% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$24,500 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 41.5%
services: 56.5% (1995)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 1.7% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 67.23 million (March 1997)
by occupation: trade and services 50%, manufacturing, mining, and
construction 33%, utilities and communication 7%, agriculture,
forestry, and fishing 6%, government 3% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 3.4% (1997)

Budget:
revenues: $497 billion
expenditures: $621 billion, including capital expenditures (public
works only) of about $72 billion (FY98/99 est.)

Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced
producers of steel and nonferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical
equipment, construction and mining equipment, motor vehicles and
parts, electronic and telecommunication equipment, machine tools,
automated production systems, locomotives and railroad rolling stock,
ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (1997)

Electricity-capacity: 199.878 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 930.55 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 7,414 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork,
poultry, dairy products, eggs; world's largest fish catch of 10
million metric tons in 1991

Exports:
total value: $421 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: manufactures 96% (including machinery 50%, motor vehicles
19%, consumer electronics 3%)
partners: US 27%, Southeast Asia 17%, EU 15%, China 5%

Imports:
total value: $339 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: manufactures 54%,