Tokelau
Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack
of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine
agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid
from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public
services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The
principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage
stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to
families from relatives in New Zealand.
Tonga
Tonga has a small, open economy with a narrow export base in
agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are
the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total
exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food,
mainly from New Zealand. Tourism is the second-largest source of
hard currency earnings following remittances. The country remains
dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities
overseas to offset its trade deficit. The government is emphasizing
the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement
of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and
education. Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and
well-developed social services.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as
an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading
performer the past four years has been the booming natural gas
sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as
important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits
from low inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by
solid growth in the oil sector, offset in part by domestic political
uncertainty.
Tromelin Island
no economic activity
Tunisia
Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural,
mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental
control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened
over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification
of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth
averaged 5.4% in 1997-2001 but slowed to 1.9% in 2002 because of
agricultural drought, slow investment, and lackluster tourism.
Increased rainfall portends higher growth levels for 2003, but
continued regional tension from the war in Iraq will most likely
continue to suppress tourism earnings. Tunisia has agreed to
gradually remove barriers to trade with the European Union over the
next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the
investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in
government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among
the challenges for the future.
Turkey
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry
and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in
2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and
rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major
role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The
most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and
clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years
the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth
and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many
years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp
declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the public
sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in
large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which account
for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in
recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003.
Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in
Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and
early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the
banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Turkey to
float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in
2002-03 were much better, because of strong financial support from
the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and
serious political tensions in the Middle East could result in
negative growth in 2004.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive
agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources.
One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the
world's tenth-largest producer. With an authoritarian ex-Communist
regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan
has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas
and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization
goals remain limited. In 1998-2003, Turkmenistan suffered from the
continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from
obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time,
however, total exports rose by 38% in 2003, largely because of
higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the
near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty,
the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government
to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's
cooperation with the international community in transporting
humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the
atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support.
Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and
other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In any event,
GDP increased substantially in 2003 because of a strong recovery in
agriculture and rapid industrial growth.
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos economy is based on
tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital
goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the
leading source of tourists, accounting for more than half of the
93,000 visitors in 1998. Major sources of government revenue include
fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts.
Tourism fell by 6% in 2002 but appeared to be picking up at yearend.
Tuvalu
Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of
nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral
resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the
primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average,
visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the
sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000
Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has
begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources
decline. Substantial income is received annually from an
international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and
the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise
investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from
an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US
government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of
payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its
dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector
reforms, including privatization of some government functions and
personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue
from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the
lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new
technology sources could increase substantially over the next
decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise
imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and
telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers,
official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets.
Uganda
Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile
soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and
cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy,
employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk
of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of
foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to
rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency
reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices
of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy
changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting
production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned
in a solid performance based on continued investment in the
rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production
and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic
security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs.
Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the
government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the
continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for
enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth
$1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These
amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to
about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued
decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Prospects
for 2003 are mixed, with probable strengthening of coffee prices yet
with halting growth in the economies of major export customers.