. In addition to nickel,
substantial financial support from France - equal to more than 15%
of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy.
Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the
recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for
the next several years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.158 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$15,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 8.8%
services: 76.2% (2003)

Labor force:
78,990 (including 11,300 unemployed) (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20%
services: 60% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
17.1% (2004)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.6% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $856.3 million
expenditures: $836.5 million (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish

Industries:
nickel mining and smelting

Industrial production growth rate:
-0.6% (1996)

Electricity - production:
1.675 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.558 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
10,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Exports:
$999 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
ferronickels, nickel ore, fish

Exports - partners:
Japan 21.1%, France 17.2%, Taiwan 11.3%, South Korea 10%, Spain
8.9%, China 7.2%, Belgium 4.5%, South Africa 4.4% (2005)

Imports:
$1.636 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
France 39.3%, Singapore 17.5%, Australia 13.1%, NZ 5.3% (2005)

Debt - external:
$79 million (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$525 million annual subsidy from France (2004)

Currency (code):
Comptoirs Franca