Chapter 311
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it relies heavily on cotton production as the major source of export earnings. Other major export earners include gold, natural gas, and oil. Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, its control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted Article VIII obligations under the IMF, providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods. Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil industry may boost growth prospects. In November 2005, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN and Uzbekistan President KARIMOV signed an "alliance," which included provisions for economic and business cooperation. Russian businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially in mining, telecom, and oil and gas. In 2006, Uzbekistan took steps to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), both organizations dominated by Russia. Uzbek authorities have accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek tax laws and have frozen their assets.
Vanuatu This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with more than 60,000 visitors in 2005, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism through improved air connections, resort development, and cruise ship facilities. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid.
Venezuela Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP in 2006 by about 9% and in 2007 by about 8%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has created a consumption boom but has come at the cost of higher inflation-roughly 20 percent in 2007. Imports also have jumped significantly. Embolden by his December 2006 reelection, President Hugo CHAVEZ in 2007 nationalized firms in the petroleum, communications, and electricity sectors, which reduced foreign influence in the economy. Although voters in December 2007 rejected CHAVEZ's proposed constitutional changes, CHAVEZ still has significant control of the economy and has indicated he intends to continue to consolidate and centralize authority over the economy by implementing "21st Century Socialism."
Vietnam Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Economic stagnation marked the period after reunification from 1975 to 1985. In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress approved a broad economic reform package that introduced market reforms and set the groundwork for Vietnam's improved investment climate. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The economy grew 8.5% in 2007. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US increased 900% from 2001 to 2007. Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007, following over a decade long negotiation process. WTO membership has provided Vietnam an anchor to the global market and reinforced the domestic economic reform process. Among other benefits, accession allows Vietnam to take advantage of the phase-out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to less than 20% in 2007. Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one-and-a-half million people every year. In an effort to stem high inflation which took off in 2007, early in 2008 Vietnamese authorities began to raise benchmark interest rates and reserve requirements. Hanoi is targeting an economic growth rate of 7.5-8% during the next four years.
Virgin Islands Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands hosted 2.6 million visitors in 2005. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are small but growing components of the economy. The islands are vulnerable to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment.
Wake Island Economic activity is limited to providing services to military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Wallis and Futuna The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia.
West Bank The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance.
Western Sahara Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.
World Global output rose by 5.2% in 2007, led by China (11.4%), India (9.2%), and Russia (8.1%). The 14 other successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 8%-10% range of growth. From 2006 to 2007 growth rates slowed in all the major industrial countries except for the United Kingdom (3.1%). Analysts attribute the slowdown to uncertainties in the financial markets and lowered consumer confidence. Worldwide, nations varied widely in their growth results. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the initial coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued through 2007.
Yemen Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth in the range of 3-4% from 2000 through 2007. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on declining oil resources, but the country is trying to diversify its earnings. In 2006 Yemen began an economic reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As a result of the program, international donors pledged about $5 billion for development projects. In addition, Yemen has made some progress on reforms over the last year that will likely encourage foreign investment. Oil revenues probably increased in 2007 as a result of higher prices.
Zambia Zambia's economy has experienced modest growth in recent years, with real GDP growth in 2005-07 between 5-6% per year. Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and foreign investment. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, consisting of approximately USD 6 billion in debt relief. Zambia experienced a bumper harvest in 2007, which helped to boost GDP and agricultural exports and contain inflation. Although poverty continues to be significant problem in Zambia, its economy has strengthened, featuring single-digit inflation, a relatively stable currency, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade.
Zimbabwe The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate, hyperinflation, and bare store shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products. The EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the government's arrears on past loans and the government's unwillingness to enact reforms that would stabilize the economy. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe routinely prints money to fund the budget deficit, causing the official annual inflation rate to rise from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004, 585% in 2005, passed 1000% in 2006, and 26000% in November 2007. Private sector estimates of inflation in 2007 are well above 100,000%. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 30,000 per US dollar in 2007.
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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@2117 Pipelines (km)
Afghanistan gas 466 km (2007)
Albania gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2007)
Algeria condensate 1,532 km; gas 13,861 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,408 km; oil 6,878 km (2007)
Angola gas 234 km; liquid petroleum gas 85 km; oil 896 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2007)
Argentina gas 28,657 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 5,607 km; refined products 3,052 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2007)
Armenia gas 2,036 km (2007)
Australia condensate/gas 469 km; gas 26,719 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,720 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2007)
Austria gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2007)
Azerbaijan gas 3,857 km; oil 2,436 km (2007)
Bahrain gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2007)
Bangladesh gas 2,644 km (2007)
Belarus gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)
Belgium gas 1,562 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2007)
Bolivia gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2007)
Brazil condensate/gas 244 km; gas 12,070 km; liquid petroleum gas 351 km; oil 5,214 km; refined products 4,410 km (2007)
Brunei gas 672 km; oil 463 km (2007)
Bulgaria gas 2,500 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2007)
Burma gas 2,790 km; oil 558 km (2007)
Cameroon gas 27 km; liquid petroleum gas 5 km; oil 1,110 km (2007)
Canada crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2006)
Chad oil 250 km (2007)
Chile gas 2,550 km; gas/liquid petroleum gas 42 km; liquid petroleum gas 539 km; oil 1,002 km; refined products 757 km; unknown (oil/water) 97 km (2007)
China gas 26,344 km; oil 17,240 km; refined products 6,106 km (2007)
Colombia gas 4,329 km; oil 6,140 km; refined products 3,145 km (2007)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the gas 62 km; oil 71 km (2007)
Congo, Republic of the gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 758 km (2007)
Costa Rica refined products 242 km (2007)
Cote d'Ivoire condensate 102 km; gas 245 km; oil 112 km (2007)
Croatia gas 1,556 km; oil 583 km (2007)
Cuba gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2007)
Czech Republic gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2007)
Denmark condensate 11 km; gas 4,073 km; oil 617 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2007)
Ecuador extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007)
Egypt condensate 483 km; condensate/gas 74 km; gas 6,466 km; liquid petroleum gas 957 km; oil 5,518 km; oil/gas/water 37 km; refined products 895 km (2007)
Equatorial Guinea condensate 42 km; condensate/gas 5 km; gas 80 km; oil 54 km (2007)
Estonia gas 859 km (2007)
Finland gas 694 km (2007)
France gas 14,665 km; oil 3,032 km; refined products 4,947 km (2007)
Gabon gas 384 km; oil 1,427 km (2007)
Georgia gas 1,591 km; oil 1,253 km (2007)
Germany condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)
Ghana oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007)
Greece gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2007)
Guatemala oil 480 km (2007)
Hungary gas 4,397 km; oil 990 km; refined products 335 km (2007)
India condensate/gas 9 km; gas 7,488 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,861 km; oil 7,883 km; refined products 6,422 km (2007)
Indonesia condensate 963 km; condensate/gas 81 km; gas 9,003 km; oil 7,471 km; oil/gas/water 77 km; refined products 1,365 km (2007)
Iran condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 397 km; gas 19,161 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,438 km; refined products 7,936 km (2007)
Iraq gas 2,250 km; liquid petroleum gas 918 km; oil 5,509 km; refined products 1,637 km (2007)
Ireland gas 1,855 km (2007)
Israel gas 160 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2007)
Italy gas 18,863 km; oil 1,258 km (2007)
Japan gas 3,939 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 104 km (2007)
Jordan gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2007)
Kazakhstan condensate 658 km; gas 11,082 km; oil 10,376 km; refined products 1,095 km (2007)
Kenya refined products 900 km (2007)
Korea, North oil 154 km (2007)
Korea, South gas 1,482 km; refined products 827 km (2007)
Kuwait gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)
Kyrgyzstan gas 254 km; oil 16 km (2007)
Laos refined products 540 km (2007)
Latvia gas 948 km; oil 82 km; refined products 415 km (2007)
Lebanon gas 43 km (2007)
Libya condensate 882 km; gas 3,425 km; oil 6,956 km (2007)
Liechtenstein gas 20 km (2007)
Lithuania gas 1,695 km; oil 228 km; refined products 121 km (2007)
Luxembourg gas 155 km (2007)
Macedonia gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2007)
Malaysia condensate 282 km; gas 5,273 km; oil 1,750 km; oil/gas/water 19 km; refined products 114 km (2007)
Mexico gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006)
Moldova gas 1,980 km (2007)
Morocco gas 720 km; oil 439 km (2007)
Mozambique gas 964 km; refined products 278 km (2007)
Netherlands condensate 81 km; gas 7,394 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2007)
New Zealand condensate 331 km; gas 1,896 km; liquid petroleum gas 172 km; oil 288 km; refined products 260 km (2007)
Nicaragua oil 54 km (2007)
Nigeria condensate 124 km; gas 3,071 km; liquid petroleum gas 156 km; oil 4,347 km; refined products 3,949 km (2007)
Norway condensate 508 km; gas 6,529 km; oil 2,444 km; oil/gas/water 457 km (2007)
Oman gas 4,126 km; oil 3,558 km (2007)
Pakistan gas 10,398 km; oil 2,076 km (2007)
Papua New Guinea oil 264 km (2007)
Peru gas 1,181 km; gas/liquid petroleum gas 61 km; liquid natural gas 106 km; liquid petroleum gas 517 km; oil 1,749 km; refined products 13 km (2007)
Philippines gas 565 km; oil 135 km; refined products 105 km (2007)
Poland gas 13,552 km; oil 1,384 km; refined products 777 km (2007)
Portugal gas 1,098 km; oil 11 km; refined products 188 km (2007)
Qatar condensate 322 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,970 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 741 km (2007)
Romania gas 3,674 km; oil 2,424 km (2007)
Russia condensate 122 km; gas 158,699 km; oil 72,347 km; refined products 13,658 km (2007)
Saudi Arabia condensate 212 km; gas 1,880 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,183 km; oil 4,521 km; refined products 1,148 km (2007)
Senegal gas 43 km (2007)
Serbia gas 1,921 km; oil 393 km (2007)
Singapore gas 139 km; refined products 8 km (2007)
Slovakia gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2007)
Slovenia gas 840 km; oil 11 km (2007)
South Africa condensate 100 km; gas 1,177 km; oil 992 km; refined products 1,379 km (2007)
Spain gas 7,858 km; oil 622 km; refined products 3,445 km (2007)
Sudan gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2007)
Suriname oil 50 km (2007)
Sweden gas 798 km (2007)
Switzerland gas 1,781 km; oil 94 km; refined products 7 km (2007)
Syria gas 2,794 km; oil 2,000 km (2007)
Taiwan condensate 25 km; gas 661 km (2007)
Tajikistan gas 549 km; oil 38 km (2007)
Tanzania gas 287 km; oil 891 km (2007)
Thailand gas 4,381 km; refined products 320 km (2007)
Trinidad and Tobago condensate 245 km; gas 1,320 km; oil 563 km (2007)
Tunisia gas 2,665 km; oil 1,235 km; refined products 353 km (2007)