American Samoa
This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which
more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is
strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts most
of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are
the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary
export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to
American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to
develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's
remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating
hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector.
Andorra
Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy,
accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 9 million tourists
visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its
summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage has
recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France and Spain
have been opened up, providing broader availability of goods and
lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax haven" status, also
contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is
limited - only 2% of the land is arable - and most food has to be
imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising.
Manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and
furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is
treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs)
and as a non-EU member for agricultural products.
Angola
Angola has been an economy in disarray because of a quarter
century of nearly continuous warfare. An apparently durable peace
was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI on
February 22, 2002, but consequences from the conflict continue
including the impact of wide-spread land mines. Subsistence
agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population.
Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the
economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and more than half of
exports. Much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully
take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds,
extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits -
Angola will need to continue reforming government policies and to
reduce corruption. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation
down further, from 325% in 2000 to about 106% in 2002, the
government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms
recommended by the IMF such as increasing foreign exchange reserves
and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Increased
oil production supported 7% GDP growth in 2003.
Anguilla
Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy depends
heavily on luxury tourism, offshore banking, lobster fishing, and
remittances from emigrants. Increased activity in the tourism
industry, which has spurred the growth of the construction sector,
has contributed to economic growth. Anguillan officials have put
substantial effort into developing the offshore financial sector,
which is small, but growing. In the medium term, prospects for the
economy will depend largely on the tourism sector and, therefore, on
revived income growth in the industrialized nations as well as on
favorable weather conditions.
Antarctica
Fishing off the coast and tourism, both based abroad,
account for the limited economic activity. Antarctic fisheries in
2000-01 (1 July-30 June) reported landing 112,934 metric tons.
Unregulated fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish, is a
serious problem. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources determines the recommended catch limits for
marine species. A total of 13,571 tourists visited in the 2002-03
antarctic summer, up from the 11,588 who visited the previous year.
Nearly all of them were passengers on commercial (nongovernmental)
ships and several yachts that make trips during the summer. Most
tourist trips last approximately two weeks.
Antigua and Barbuda
Tourism continues to dominate the economy,
accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers
since early 2000 have slowed the economy, however, and pressed the
government into a tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's
agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and
constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming
from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction.
Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major
products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components.
Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to
depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in
the US, which accounts for slightly more than one-third of tourist
arrivals.
Arctic Ocean
Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of
natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.
Argentina
Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly
literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a
diversified industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the
country has suffered recurring economic problems of inflation,
external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000
was a negative 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained
skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the
peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic
situation worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine
bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in
consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a
"zero deficit," to stabilize the banking system, and to restore
economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting
economic problems. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in
January 2002, and the peso was floated in February; the exchange
rate plunged and inflation picked up rapidly, but by mid-2002 the
economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. Strong demand for
the peso compelled the Central Bank to intervene in foreign exchange
markets to curb its appreciation in 2003. Led by record exports, the
economy began to recover with output up 8% in 2003, unemployment
falling, and inflation reduced to under 4% at year-end.
Armenia
Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had
developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools,
textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in
exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the
USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale
agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the
Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more
investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has
been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the
current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral
deposits (copper, gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict
with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic
system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic
decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian
Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic
liberalization program that resulted in positive growth rates in
1995-2003. Armenia joined the WTrO in January 2003. Armenia also has
managed to slash inflation, stabilize the local currency (the dram),
and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic
energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s have
been offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power
plants at Metsamor. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although
it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor,
which is under international pressure to close. The electricity
distribution system was privatized in 2002. Armenia's severe trade
imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid and foreign
direct investment. Economic ties with Russia remain close,
especially in the energy sector.
Aruba
Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy,
with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important.
The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has
resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities.
Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985
level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in
1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings,
has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and low
unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job
vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.
Tourist arrivals have declined in the aftermath of the 11 September
2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The government now must deal with
a budget deficit and a negative trade balance.