The 2006 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Angola
Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with
record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production
and its supporting activities contribute about half of GDP and 90%
of exports. Increased oil production supported 12% growth in 2004
and 19% growth in 2005. A postwar reconstruction boom and
resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in
construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's
infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long
civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines
still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace
was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in
February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood
for half of the population, but half of the country's food must
still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2
billion line of credit from China to rebuild Angola's public
infrastructure, and several large-scale projects are scheduled for
completion by 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange
rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy
kwanzas out of circulation, a policy that was more sustainable in
2005 because of strong oil export earnings, and has significantly
reduced inflation. Consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to
about 18% in 2005, but the stabilization policy places pressure on
international net liquidity. To fully take advantage of its rich
national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic
fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue
reforming government policies and to reduce corruption. The
government has made sufficient progress on reforms recommended by
the IMF such as promoting greater transparency in government
spending but continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement
with the institution.

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 Antarctica's limited economic activity. Antarctic
fisheries in 2003-04 (1 July-30 June) reported landing 136,262
metric tons (estimated fishing from the area covered by the
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Antarctic Treaty area).
Unregulated fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish, is a
serious problem. The CCAMLR determines the recommended catch limits
for marine species. A total of 23,175 tourists visited in the
2004-05 Antarctic summer, up from the 19,486 visitors 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 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 real GDP fell
by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year the economy had stabilized, albeit
at a lower level. GDP expanded by about 9% per year from 2003 to
2005. Growth is being led by a revival in domestic demand, solid
exports, and favorable external conditions. The government boosted
spending ahead of the October 2005 midterm congressional elections,
but strong revenue performance allowed Argentina to maintain a
budget surplus. Inflation has been rising steadily and reached 12.3
percent in 2005.

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
1995-2005. Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. Armenia also has
managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize
most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Armenia's unemployment
rate, however, remains high, despite strong economic growth. 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, remittances
from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment.
Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy
sector. The government made some improvements in tax and customs
administration in 2005, but anti-corruption measures will be more
difficult to implement. Investment in the construction and
industrial sectors is expected to continue in 2006 and will help to
ensure annual average real GDP growth of about 13.9%.

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. Over 1.5
million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the
US. Construction continues to boom, 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. Tourist arrivals have
rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001
attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel
occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest
of the Caribbean. The newly re-elected government has made cutting
the budget and trade deficits a high priority.

Ashmore and Cartier Islands
no economic activity

Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most
heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the
exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, dredging of
aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and
natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).