The 2010 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Spratly Islands
Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing.
The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins
suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is
largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential
reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is engaging in large-scale reconstruction and
development projects following the end of the 26-year conflict with
the LTTE, including increasing electricity access and rebuilding its
road and rail network. Additionally, Sri Lanka seeks to reduce
poverty by using a combination of state directed policies and
private investment promotion to spur growth in disadvantaged areas,
develop small and medium enterprises, and promote increased
agriculture, High levels of government funding may be difficult, as
the government already is faced with high debt interest payments, a
bloated civil service, and historically high budget deficits. The
2008-09 global financial crisis and recession exposed Sri Lanka's
economic vulnerabilities and nearly caused a balance of payments
crisis, which was alleviated by a $2.6 billion IMF standby agreement
in July 2009. The end of the civil war and the IMF loan, however,
have largely restored investors' confidence, reflected in part by
the Sri Lankan stock market's recognition as one of the best
performing markets in the world. Sri Lankan growth rates averaged
nearly 5% in during the war, but increased government spending on
development and fighting the LTTE in the final years spurred GDP
growth to around 6-7% per year in 2006-08. After experiencing 3.5%
growth in 2009, Sri Lanka's economy is poised to achieve high growth
rates in the postwar period.

Sudan
Since 1997, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement
macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate
and a large reserve of foreign exchange. A new currency, the
Sudanese Pound, was introduced in January 2007 at an initial
exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. Sudan began
exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999 and the economy
boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices,
and significant inflows of foreign direct investment until the
second half of 2008. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two
decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure
in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on
subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at
or below the poverty line for years to come despite rapid rises in
average per capita income. Sudan's real GDP expanded by 5.2% during
2010, an improvement over 2009's 4.2% growth but significantly below
the more that 10% per year growth experienced prior to the global
financial crisis in 2006 and 2007. While the oil sector continues to
drive growth, services and utilities play an increasingly important
role in the economy with agriculture production remaining important
as it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP.
In the lead up to the referendum on southern secession, scheduled in
January 2011, Sudan saw its currency depreciate considerably on the
black market with the Central Bank's official rate also losing value
as the Sudanese people started to hoard foreign currency. The
Central Bank of Sudan intervened heavily in the currency market to
defend the value of the pound and the Sudanese government introduced
a number of measures to restrain excess local demand for hard
currency, but uncertainty ahead of the referendum has meant that
foreign exchange remained in heavy demand as 2010 came to a close.

Suriname
The economy is dominated by the mining industry, with
exports of alumina, gold, and oil accounting for about 85% of
exports and 25% of government revenues, making the economy highly
vulnerable to mineral price volatility. In 2000, the government of
Ronald VENETIAAN, returned to office and inherited an economy with
inflation of over 100% and a growing fiscal deficit. He quickly
implemented an austerity program, raised taxes, attempted to control
spending, and tamed inflation. Economic growth reached about 6% in
2007 and 2008, owing to sizeable foreign investment in mining and
oil. Suriname has received aid for projects in the bauxite and gold
mining sectors from Netherlands, Belgium, and the European
Development Fund. The economy contracted in 2009, however, as
investment waned and the country earned less from its commodity
exports when global prices for most commodities fell. Trade picked
up, boosting Suriname's economic growth in 2010, but the
government's budget remained strained, with increased social
spending during last year's election. Suriname's economic prospects
for the medium term will depend on continued commitment to
responsible monetary and fiscal policies and to the introduction of
structural reforms to liberalize markets and promote competition.

Svalbard
Coal mining, tourism, and international research are the
major revenue sources on Svalbard. Coal mining is the dominant
economic activity and a treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41
signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to
Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal
companies have mined in the past, the only companies still engaging
in this are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are
essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company
employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs
many of the local services, and provides most of the local
infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and
fox.

Swaziland
In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture
occupies approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing
sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp
remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar
industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in
response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in
importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines
remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short
border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South
Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports
and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is
pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary
policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African
Customs Union (SACU) account for two-thirds of Swaziland's
government revenues, and worker remittances from South Africa
substantially supplement domestically earned income. Customs
revenues plummeted during the global economic crisis and Swaziland
has appealed to SACU for assistance. With an estimated 40%
unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size
of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct
investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and
sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than
one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07
because of drought, and more than one-quarter of the adult
population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.

Sweden
Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole of the 20th
century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a
mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits.
It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external
communications, and a skilled labor force. In September 2003,
Swedish voters turned down entry into the euro system concerned
about the impact on the economy and sovereignty. Timber, hydropower,
and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily
oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for
about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector
accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for
little more than 1% of GDP and of employment. Until 2008, Sweden was
in the midst of a sustained economic upswing, boosted by increased
domestic demand and strong exports. This and robust finances offered
the center-right government considerable scope to implement its
reform program aimed at increasing employment, reducing welfare
dependence, and streamlining the state's role in the economy.
Despite strong finances and underlying fundamentals, the Swedish
economy slid into recession in the third quarter of 2008 and growth
continued downward in 2009 as deteriorating global conditions
reduced export demand and consumption. Strong exports of commodities
and a return to profitability by Sweden's banking sector drove the
strong rebound in 2010.

Switzerland
Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and modern market
economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a
per capita GDP among the highest in the world. Switzerland's economy
benefits from a highly developed service sector, led by financial
services, and a manufacturing industry that specializes in
high-technology, knowledge-based production. The Swiss have brought
their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's, in
order to enhance their international competitiveness, but some trade
protectionism remains, particularly for its small agricultural
sector. The global financial crisis and resulting economic downturn
put Switzerland in a recession in 2009 as global export demand
stalled. The Swiss National Bank during this period effectively
implemented a zero-interest rate policy in a bid to boost the
economy and prevent appreciation of the franc. Switzerland's economy
grew 2.8% in 2010, when Bern implemented a third fiscal stimulus
program, but its prized banking sector has recently faced
significant challenges. The country's largest banks suffered sizable
losses in 2008-09, leading its largest bank to accept a government
rescue deal in late 2008. Switzerland has also come under increasing
pressure from individual neighboring countries, the EU, the US, and
international institutions to reform its banking secrecy laws.
Consequently, the government agreed to conform to OECD regulations
on administrative assistance in tax matters, including tax evasion.
The government has renegotiated its double taxation agreements with
numerous countries, including the US, to incorporate the OECD
standard, and it is working with Germany and the UK to resolve
outsanding issues, particularly the possibility of imposing taxes on
bank deposits held by foreigners. Parliament passed the first five
double-taxation agreements, including that with the US, in March
2010, but the agreements are subject to public referendum. In 2009,
Swiss financial regulators ordered the country's largest bank to
reveal at Washington's behest the names of US account-holders
suspected of using the bank to commit tax fraud. These steps will
have a lasting impact on Switzerland's long history of bank secrecy.

Syria
Syrian economic growth slowed to 1.8% in 2009 as the global
economic crisis affected oil prices and the economies of Syria's key
export partners and sources of investment. Damascus has implemented
modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting
lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating all of
the multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized
items, most notably gasoline and cement, and establishing the
Damascus Stock Exchange - which began operations in 2009. In
addition, President ASAD signed legislative decrees to encourage
corporate ownership reform, and to allow the Central Bank to issue
Treasury bills and bonds for government debt. Nevertheless, the
economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run
economic constraints include declining oil production, high
unemployment, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on
water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population
growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.

Taiwan Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing government guidance of investment and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, some large, state-owned banks and industrial firms have been privatized. Exports, led by electronics and machinery, generate about 70% of Taiwan's GDP growth, and have provided the primary impetus for economic development. This heavy dependence on exports makes the economy vulnerable to downturns in world demand. In 2009, Taiwan's GDP fell by 1.9%, due primarily to a 20% year-on-year decline in exports. GDP grew more than 8% in 2010, as exports returned to the level of previous years. Taiwan's diplomatic isolation, low birth rate, and rapidly aging population are major long-term challenges. Free trade agreements have proliferated in East Asia over the past several years, but so far Taiwan has been excluded from this greater economic integration, largely for reasons of diplomacy. Taiwan's birth rate of only 1.2 child per woman is among the lowest in the world, raising the prospect of future labor shortages, falling domestic demand, and declining tax revenues. Taiwan's population is aging quickly, with the number of people over 65 accounting for 10.8% of the island's total population as of the end of 2009. The island runs a large trade surplus, and its foreign reserves are the world's fourth largest, behind China, Japan, and Russia. Since President MA Ying-jeou took office in May 2008, cross-Strait economic ties have increased significantly. Since 2005 China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Taipei has focused much of its economic recovery effort on improving cross-Strait economic integration. Three financial memorandums of understanding, covering banking, securities, and insurance, took effect in mid-January 2010, opening the island to greater investments from the Mainland's financial firms and institutional investors, and providing new opportunities for Taiwan financial firms to operate in China. Taiwan and the mainland in June 2010 signed the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), an agreement similar to a free-trade agreement deal that will increase cross-Strait economic ties by lowering tariffs on a number of goods. Taiwan's goverment has said that the ECFA will serve as a stepping stone toward trade pacts with other regional partners and announced the beginning of negotiations on such an agreement with Singapore in August.