, white, and red with a
blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms
centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow
six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore
islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below
which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity,
Peace, Justice)

Economy Equatorial Guinea

Economy - overview:
The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have
contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry,
farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence
farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea
counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect
of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished
potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its
intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number
of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been
cut off since 1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No
longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil
revenues, the government has been trying to agree on a "shadow"
fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses,
for the most part, are owned by government officials and their
family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron
ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong
in 2006, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the third highest per
capita income in the world, after Luxembourg and Bermuda.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$25.69 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$7.644 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
18.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$50,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 92.6%
services: 4.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
30% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
34.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.752 billion
expenditures: $1.424 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2006 est.)

Public debt:
4.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
co