Somalia:
One of the world's poorest and least developed countries,
Somalia has few resources. Moreover, much of the economy has been
devastated by the civil war. Agriculture is the most important
sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65%
of export earnings. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent upon
livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the
population. Livestock and bananas are the principal exports; sugar,
sorghum, corn, fish, and qat are products for the domestic market.
The small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural
products, accounts for 10% of GDP; most facilities have been shut
down because of the civil strife. Moreover, ongoing civil
disturbances in Mogadishu and outlying areas have interfered with
any substantial economic advance and with international aid
arrangements. Due to the civil strife, economic data is susceptible
to an exceptionally wide margin of error.
South Africa:
South Africa is a middle-income, developing country
with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial,
legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock
exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern
infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to
major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not
been strong enough to cut into the 30% unemployment, and daunting
economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the
problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the
disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and
HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote
economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by
relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of
privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands:
Some fishing takes
place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from
harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from
postage stamps produced in the UK.
Southern Ocean:
Fisheries in 1998-99 (1 July to 30 June) landed
119,898 metric tons, of which 85% was krill and 14% Patagonian
toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to
reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the
1998-99 season landed five to six times more Patagonian toothfish
than the regulated fishery. In the 1999-2000 antarctic summer 13,193
tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and
Antarctica, compared to 10,013 the previous year. Nearly 16,000
tourists are expected during the 2000-01 season.
Spain:
Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per
capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European
economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain
admission to the first group of countries launching the European
single currency on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has
continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and
deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to
that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the AZNAR
administration but remains the highest in the EU at 14%. The
government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws
and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability
of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness
in a single currency area. Adjusting to the monetary and other
economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing
unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain in the next few years.
Spratly Islands:
Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing.
The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins
suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is
largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential
reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.
Sri Lanka:
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and
its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies
and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are
food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages,
telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation
crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while
textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual
average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a
deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The
economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but
slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with
growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of
civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a
possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next
round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that
Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture,
dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote
more competition in the financial sector.
Sudan:
Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse
weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from
abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private
sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80%
of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly
processing of agricultural goods. Most of the 1990s were
characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended
lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to
expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing
IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized
inflation at 10% or less. Sudan continues to have limited
international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9
billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the
civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil
and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses. Current oil
production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is
exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its
many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the
return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation
schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in
2001.
Suriname:
The economy is dominated by the bauxite industry, which
accounts for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings. After
assuming power in the fall of 1996, the WIJDENBOSCH government ended
the structural adjustment program of the previous government,
claiming it was unfair to the poorer elements of society. Tax
revenues fell as old taxes lapsed and the government failed to
implement new tax alternatives. By the end of 1997, the allocation
of new Dutch development funds was frozen as Surinamese Government
relations with the Netherlands deteriorated. Economic growth slowed
in 1998, with decline in the mining, construction, and utility
sectors. Rampant government expenditures, poor tax collection, a
bloated civil service, and reduced foreign aid in 1999 contributed
to the fiscal deficit, estimated at 11% of GDP. The government
sought to cover this deficit through monetary expansion, which led
to a dramatic increase in inflation and exchange rate depreciation.
Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on
renewed commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and
to the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and
promote competition. The new government of Ronald VENETIAAN has
begun an austerity program, raised taxes, and attempted to control
spending. the exchange rate has responded by stabilizing. The Dutch
Government has restarted the aid flow, which will allow Suriname to
access international development financing.
Svalbard:
Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard.
The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights
to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation.
Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the
past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The
settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian
state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian
population on the island, runs many of the local services, and
provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some
trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus.