Economy—overview: Agriculture still provides a livelihood for more than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of food needs and accounts for only 4% of GDP. Subsistence farming and cattle raising predominate. Diamond mining and tourism also are important to the economy. The sector is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. Substantial mineral deposits were found in the 1970s and the mining sector grew from 25% of GDP in 1980 to 35% in 1997. Unemployment officially is 21% but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. On the plus side is the substantial positive trade balance.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$5 billion (1997 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$3 300 (1997 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 45% (including 35% mining)
services: 51% (1997 est.)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 10% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 235 000 formal sector employees (1995)
by occupation: 100 000 public sector; 135 000 private sector including 14 300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20-40% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96/97)

Industries: diamonds copper nickel coal salt soda ash potash; livestock processing

Industrial production growth rate: 4.6% (FY92/93)

Electricity—capacity: 217 000 kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 1 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 962 kWh (1995)

Agriculture—products: sorghum maize millet pulses groundnuts (peanuts) beans cowpeas sunflower seed; livestock

Exports:
total value: $2.31 billion (f.o.b. 1996 est.)
commodities: diamonds 71% copper and nickel 5% meat 3%
partners: Europe 74% Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 22% Zimbabwe 3%

Imports:
total value: $1.6 billion (c.i.f. 1996 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs vehicles and transport equipment textiles petroleum products
partners: Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 74% Europe 8% Zimbabwe 6%

Debt—external: $619 million (1996)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA $189 million (1993)

Currency: 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe

Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1—3.8547 (January 1998) 3.6508 (1997) 3.3242 (1996) 2.7716 (1995) 2.6831 (1994) 2.4190 (1993)

Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March