Economy - overview:
Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank- and IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the US. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$20.76 billion (2008 est.)
$19.4 billion (2007)
$18.27 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$9.729 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7% (2008 est.)
6.2% (2007 est.)
5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:
$1,000 (2008 est.)
$1,000 (2007 est.)
$1,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 26%
industry: 15.9%
services: 58.1% (2008 est.)

Labor force:
7.3 million (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
47.5 (2001)

Investment (gross fixed):
27.2% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.688 billion
expenditures: $2.066 billion (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.2% (2008 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
45% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:
$1.161 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:
$577.4 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:
$767.5 million (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

Agriculture - products:
coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products

Industries:
meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
8% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.045 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
907 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production:
92.18 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:
18,190 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:
480.3 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:
17,100 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
-$1.088 billion (2008 est.)

Exports:
$1.316 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products

Exports - partners:
France 31.8%, US 26.6%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.9%, Italy 4.4% (2007)

Imports:
$2.541 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food

Imports - partners:
France 13.6%, China 13%, Iran 8.1%, South Africa 6.4%, Hong Kong 4.9%, Mauritius 4.8% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$996 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external:
$4.6 billion (2002)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA