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Paraguay Economy 2000 Economy - overview: Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derive their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97, but GDP declined slightly in 1998 and 1999. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, and deficient infrastructure. Growth should recover in 2000, perhaps to 2%. GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.9 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: -1% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,650 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: 32% (1997-98 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1999) Labor force: 1.7 million (1996) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 45% Unemployment rate: 12% (1998 est.) Budget:
Industries: sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products Industrial production growth rate: -4% (1999 est.) Electricity - production: 50.324 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 1.494 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 45.307 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber Exports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) Exports - commodities: soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils Exports - partners: Brazil, Argentina, EU Imports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) Imports - commodities: road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery Imports - partners: Brazil 34%, US, Argentina, Uruguay, EU, Hong Kong (1998) Debt - external: $2.7 billion (1999) Economic aid - recipient: $NA Currency: 1 guarani (G) = 100 centimos Exchange rates: guarani (G) per US$ - 3.332.0 (January 2000), 3,119.1 (1999), 2,726.5 (1998), 2,177.9 (1997), 2,056.8 (1996), 1,963.0 (1995); note - since early 1998, the exchange rate has operated as a managed float; prior to that, the exchange rate was determined freely in the market Fiscal year: calendar year |