The 2010 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is largely a desert country with intensive
agriculture in irrigated oases and sizeable gas and oil resources.
The two largest crops are cotton, most of which is produced for
export, and wheat, which is domestically consumed. Although
agriculture accounts for roughly 10% of GDP, it continues to employ
nearly half of the country's workforce. With an authoritarian
ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure,
Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform,
hoping to use gas and cotton export revenues to sustain its
inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. From
1998-2005, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate
export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive
short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports
rose by an average of roughly 15% per year from 2003-08, largely
because of higher international oil and gas prices. New pipelines to
China and Iran, that began operation in late 2009 and early 2010,
have given Turkmenistan additional export routes for its gas,
although these new routes have not offset the sharp drop in export
revenue since early 2009 from decreased gas exports to Russia.
Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of
widespread internal poverty, endemic corruption, a poor educational
system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's
reluctance to adopt market-oriented reforms. In the past,
Turkmenistan's economic statistics were state secrets. The new
government has established a State Agency for Statistics, but GDP
numbers and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In
particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. Since his election,
President BERDIMUHAMEDOW unified the country's dual currency
exchange rate, ordered the redenomination of the manat, reduced
state subsidies for gasoline, and initiated development of a special
tourism zone on the Caspian Sea. Although foreign investment is
encouraged, numerous bureaucratic obstacles impede international
business activity.

Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos economy is based on
tourism, offshore financial services, and fishing. Most capital
goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the
leading source of tourists, accounting for more than three-quarters
of the 175,000 visitors that arrived in 2004. Major sources of
government revenue also include fees from offshore financial
activities and customs receipts.

Tuvalu
Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of
nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral
resources and few exports and is almost entirely dependent upon
imported food and fuel. Subsistence farming and fishing are the
primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average,
visit Tuvalu annually. Job opportunities are scarce and public
sector workers make up most of those employed. About 15% of the
adult male population work as seamen on merchant ships abroad, and
remittances are a vital source of income contributing around $2
million in 2007. Substantial income is received annually from the
Tuvalu Trust Fund (TTF) an international trust fund established in
1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and
South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative
withdrawals, this fund grew from an initial $17 million to an
estimated value of $77 million in 2006. The TTF contributed nearly
$9 million towards the government budget in 2006 and is an important
cushion for meeting shortfalls in the government's budget. The US
Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of
payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to ensure
financial stability and sustainability, the government is pursuing
public sector reforms, including privatization of some government
functions and personnel cuts. Tuvalu also derives royalties from the
lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name with revenue of more than $2
million in 2006. A minor source of government revenue comes from the
sale of stamps and coins. With merchandise exports only a fraction
of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing
and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas
workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.
Growing income disparities and the vulnerability of the country to
climatic change are among leading concerns for the nation.

Uganda
Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile
soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other
minerals, and recently discovered oil. Uganda has never conducted a
national minerals survey. Agriculture is the most important sector
of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee
accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government
- with the support of foreign countries and international agencies -
has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking
currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing
prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The
policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and
boosting production and export earnings. Since 1990 economic reforms
ushered in an era of solid economic growth based on continued
investment in infrastructure, improved incentives for production and
exports, lower inflation, better domestic security, and the return
of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Uganda has received about $2
billion in multilateral and bilateral debt relief. In 2007 Uganda
received $10 million for a Millennium Challenge Account Threshold
Program. The global economic downturn has hurt Uganda's exports;
however, Uganda's GDP growth is still relatively strong due to past
reforms and sound management of the downturn. Oil revenues and taxes
will become a larger source of government funding as oil comes on
line in the next few years. Instability in southern Sudan is the
biggest risk for the Ugandan economy in 2011 because Uganda's main
export partner is Sudan and Uganda is a key destination for Sudanese
refugees.

Ukraine After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence in August 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Ukraine depends on imports to meet about three-fourths of its annual oil and natural gas requirements and 100% of its nuclear fuel needs. After a two-week dispute that saw gas supplies cutoff to Europe, Ukraine agreed to ten-year gas supply and transit contracts with Russia in January 2009 that brought gas prices to "world" levels. The strict terms of the contracts have further hobbled Ukraine's cash-strapped state gas company, Naftohaz. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. Ukrainian Government officials eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a March 2005 budget law, bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy, but more improvements are needed, including fighting corruption, developing capital markets, and improving the legislative framework. Ukraine's economy was buoyant despite political turmoil between the prime minister and president until mid-2008. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2006-07, fueled by high global prices for steel - Ukraine's top export - and by strong domestic consumption, spurred by rising pensions and wages. Ukraine reached an agreement with the IMF for a $16.4 billion Stand-By Arrangement in November 2008 to deal with the economic crisis, but the Ukrainian Government's lack of progress in implementing reforms has twice delayed the release of IMF assistance funds. The drop in steel prices and Ukraine's exposure to the global financial crisis due to aggressive foreign borrowing lowered growth in 2008 and the economy contracted more than 15% in 2009, among the worst economic performances in the world; growth resumed in 2010, buoyed by exports. External conditions are likely to hamper efforts for economic recovery in 2011.

United Arab Emirates
The UAE has an open economy with a high per
capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts
at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP based on
oil and gas output to 25%. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE
more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound
transformation from an impoverished region of small desert
principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The
government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure
expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector
involvement. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to
undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement with the US,
however, those talks have not moved forward. The country's Free
Trade Zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are
helping to attract foreign investors. The global financial crisis,
tight international credit, and deflated asset prices slowed GDP
growth in 2010. UAE authorities tried to blunt the crisis by
increasing spending and boosting liquidity in the banking sector.
The crisis hit Dubai hardest, as it was heavily exposed to depressed
real estate prices. Dubai lacked sufficient cash to meet its debt
obligations, prompting global concern about its solvency. The UAE
Central Bank and Abu Dhabi-based banks bought the largest shares. In
December 2009 Dubai received an additional $10 billion loan from the
emirate of Abu Dhabi. The economy is expected to continue a slow
rebound. Dependence on oil, a large expatriate workforce, and
growing inflation pressures are significant long-term challenges.
The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on
diversification and creating more opportunities for nationals
through improved education and increased private sector employment.

United Kingdom
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center,
is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France.
Over the past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public
ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs.
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by
European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than
2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil
resources, but its oil and natural gas reserves are declining and
the UK became a net importer of energy in 2005. Services,
particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by
far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to
decline in importance. After emerging from recession in 1992,
Britain's economy enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record
during which time growth outpaced most of Western Europe. In 2008,
however, the global financial crisis hit the economy particularly
hard, due to the importance of its financial sector. Sharply
declining home prices, high consumer debt, and the global economic
slowdown compounded Britain's economic problems, pushing the economy
into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompting the then
BROWN government to implement a number of measures to stimulate the
economy and stabilize the financial markets; these include
nationalizing parts of the banking system, cutting taxes, suspending
public sector borrowing rules, and moving forward public spending on
capital projects. Facing burgeoning public deficits and debt levels,
the CAMERON government in 2010 initiiated a five-year austerity
program, which aims to lower London's budget deficit from over 11%
of GDP in 2010 to nearly 1% by 2015. The Bank of England
periodically coordinates interest rate moves with the European
Central Bank, but Britain remains outside the European Economic and
Monetary Union (EMU).

United States The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about 60% of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840 billion in 2008 before shrinking to $506 billion in 2009, and ramping back up to $630 billion in 2010. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately two-thirds of these funds were injected into the economy by the end of 2010. In March 2010, President OBAMA signed a health insurance reform bill into law that will extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In late 2010, the US Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) announced that it would purchase $600 billion worth of US Government bonds by June 2011, in an attempt to keep interest rates from rising and snuffing out the nascent recovery.

United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
no economic activity

Uruguay
Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented
agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of
social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during
1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn,
stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems
of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. In 2001-02, Argentine
citizens made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan
banks after bank deposits in Argentina were frozen, which led to a
plunge in the Uruguayan peso, a banking crisis, and a sharp economic
contraction. Real GDP fell in four years by nearly 20%, with 2002
the worst year. The unemployment rate rose, inflation surged, and
the burden of external debt doubled. Financial assistance from the
IMF helped stem the damage. Uruguay restructured its external debt
in 2003 without asking creditors to accept a reduction on the
principal. Economic growth for Uruguay resumed, and averaged 8%
annually during the period 2004-08. The 2008-09 global financial
crisis put a brake on Uruguay's vigorous growth, which decelerated
to 2.9% in 2009. Nevertheless, the country managed to avoid a
recession and keep positive growth rates, mainly through higher
public expenditure and investment, and GDP growth exceeded 7% in
2010.