Navassa Island
Subsistence fishing and commercial trawling
activities within refuge waters.
Nepal
Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in
the world with 42% of its population living below the poverty line.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood
for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP.
Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural
produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Security
concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict and the 11 September
2001 terrorist attacks in the US have led to a decrease in tourism,
a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for
exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent
foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or
investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of
the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its
remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, its civil strife,
and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international
community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development
budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely
continue as a major ingredient of growth.
Netherlands
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which
depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable
industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable
current account surplus, and an important role as a European
transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food
processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery.
A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of
the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing
industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU
partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The
country continues to be one of the leading European nations for
attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed
considerably in 2001-03, as part of the global economic slowdown,
but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly
4%, well above the EU average. The government is wrestling with a
deteriorating budget position, and is moving toward the EU 3% of GDP
budget deficit limit.
Netherlands Antilles
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore
finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely
tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown
slightly in each of the past seven years, the islands enjoy a high
per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with
other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods
are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor
soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of
agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and
pension systems of an aging population.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known
nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for
cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition
to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more
than one-fourth 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.
New Zealand
Over the past 20 years the government has transformed
New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary
British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy
that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real
incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder),
broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the
industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita
income has been rising and is now 80% of the level of the four
largest EU economies. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade -
particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has
been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in
commodity prices. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and
growth should continue at the same level in 2004. Expenditures on
health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries,
faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external
debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the
globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic
stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth of 1.5% - 2.5%
has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will
continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under
the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has
undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help
the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under
HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness
of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human
rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to
with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy.
Niger
Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy
centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport
trade, and increasingly less on uranium, because of declining world
demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January
1994 boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products
of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral
and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999
coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In
2000-01, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of
$105 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could
prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation.
The IMF approved a $73 million poverty reduction and growth facility
for Niger in 2000 and announced $115 million in debt relief under
the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Further
disbursements of aid occurred in 2002. Future growth may be
sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral
resources.
Nigeria
Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability,
corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic
management, is undertaking some reforms under the new civilian
administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify
the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil
sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings,
and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence
agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population
growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the
country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.
Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000,
Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a
$1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms.
Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing
to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for
additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. The government has
lacked the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms
urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb
inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve
regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil
industry. During 2003, however, the government deregulated fuel
prices and announced the privatization of the country's four oil
refineries. GDP growth probably will rise marginally in 2004, led by
oil and natural gas exports.
Niue
The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of
geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population.
Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall
is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are
used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government
expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The
agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening,
although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists
primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil,
honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign
collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent
years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration
of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the
promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although
Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down
the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002
was about $2.6 million.