Economy - overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 68% of the population. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. The 50% devaluation of Franc Zone currencies on 12 January 1994 caused a one-time jump in the inflation rate to 26% in 1994, but the rate fell sharply in 1996-99. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in growth to 5% annually in 1996-99. Growth may slow in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,600 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 32%
industry: 18%
services: 50% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $640 million (1997 est.)

Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, construction materials, electricity

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production: 3.36 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 35.71%
hydro: 64.29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 3.165 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 40 million kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities: cocoa 37%, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish (1998)

Exports - partners: France 17%, Netherlands 12%, US 9%, Italy 6% (1998)

Imports: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods; capital goods, fuel, transport equipment

Imports - partners: France 29%, US 5%, Italy 5%, Germany 5% (1998)

Debt - external: $16.8 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $1 billion (1996 est.)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 647.25 (January 2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995)
note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

Fiscal year: calendar year