Botswana
Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic
growth rates since independence in 1966, though growth slowed to
4.7% annually in 2006-07. Through fiscal discipline and sound
management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest
countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita
GDP of nearly $15,000 in 2007. Two major investment services rank
Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has
fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than
one-third of GDP and for 70-80% of export earnings. Tourism,
financial services, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are
other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with
high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially was
23.8% in 2004, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%.
HIV/AIDS infection rates are the second highest in the world and
threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. An expected leveling
off in diamond mining production overshadows long-term prospects.
Bouvet Island
no economic activity; declared a nature reserve
Brazil
Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural,
mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy
outweighs that of all other South American countries and is
expanding its presence in world markets. Having weathered 2001-03
financial turmoil, capital inflows are regaining strength and the
currency has resumed appreciating. The appreciation has slowed
export volume growth, but since 2004, Brazil's growth has yielded
increases in employment and real wages. The resilience in the
economy stems from commodity-driven current account surpluses, and
sound macroeconomic policies that have bolstered international
reserves to historically high levels, reduced public debt, and
allowed a significant decline in real interest rates. A floating
exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and a tight fiscal
policy are the three pillars of the economic program. From 2003 to
2007, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first
current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains coupled
with high commodity prices contributed to the surge in exports.
Brazil improved its debt profile in 2006 by shifting its debt burden
toward real denominated and domestically held instruments. "LULA" DA
SILVA restated his commitment to fiscal responsibility by
maintaining the country's primary surplus during the 2006 election.
Following his second inauguration, "LULA" DA SILVA announced a
package of further economic reforms to reduce taxes and increase
investment in infrastructure. The government's goal of achieving
strong growth while reducing the debt burden is likely to create
inflationary pressures.
British Indian Ocean Territory All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory earns foreign exchange by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
British Virgin Islands
The economy, one of the most stable and
prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism,
generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated
820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005.
In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore
registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and
incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly
400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The
adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which
provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory
gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British
Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business.
Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor
soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements.
Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the
British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since
1959.
Brunei
Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that encompasses a
mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government
regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and
natural gas production account for just over half of GDP and more
than 90% of exports. Per capita GDP is among the highest in Asia,
and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income
from domestic production. The government provides for all medical
services and free education through the university level and
subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that
steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine
internal social cohesion. Plans for the future include upgrading the
labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and
tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base
beyond oil and gas.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on
1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic
downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated
commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but
have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current
account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since
2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment,
but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and
the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.
Burkina Faso
One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked
Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base.
About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture,
which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash
crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing
countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby in the
World Trade Organization for fewer subsidies to producers in other
competing countries. Since 1998, Burkina Faso has embarked upon a
gradual but successful privatization of state-owned enterprises.
Having revised its investment code in 2004, Burkina Faso hopes to
attract foreign investors. Thanks to this new code and other
legislation favoring the mining sector, the country has seen an
upswing in gold exploration and production. While the bitter
internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is beginning to be
resolved, it is still having a negative effect on Burkina Faso's
trade and employment. In 2007 higher costs for energy and imported
foodstuffs, as well as low cotton prices, dampened a GDP growth rate
that had averaged 6% in the last 10 years. Burkina Faso received a
Millennium Challenge Account threshold grant to improve girls'
education at the primary school level, and appears likely to receive
a grant in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, and land reform.
Burma Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Despite Burma's increasing oil and gas revenue, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated due to the regime's mismanagement of the economy. Lacking monetary or fiscal stability, the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions in August 2003 including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. Further, a poor investment climate hampers attracting outside investment slowing the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber with the latter especially causing environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of 2007, the largest private banks operated under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Moreover, the September 2007 crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrators, including thousands of monks, further strained the economy as the tourism industry, which directly employs about 500,000 people, suffered dramatic declines in foreign visitor levels. In November 2007, the European Union announced new sanctions banning investment and trade in Burmese gems, timber and precious stones, while the United States expanded its sanctions list to include more Burmese government and military officials and their family members, as well as prominent regime business cronies, their family members, and associated companies. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be as large as the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism.
Burundi
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an
underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly
agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on
subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea
exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The
ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather
conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi
minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the
coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the
population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade
resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000
refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally.
Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15
adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short
supply. Burundi's GDP grew around 5% annually in 2006-07. Political
stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and
economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high
poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low
administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms.
Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from
bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a
corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced
government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries.