The 2008 CIA World Factbook, United States. Central Intelligence Agency [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

Unemployment officially was
  23.8% in 2004, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%.
  HIV/AIDS infection rates are the second highest in the world and
  threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. An expected leveling
  off in diamond mining production overshadows long-term prospects.

Bouvet Island
  no economic activity; declared a nature reserve

Brazil
  Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural,
  mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy
  outweighs that of all other South American countries and is
  expanding its presence in world markets. Having weathered 2001-03
  financial turmoil, capital inflows are regaining strength and the
  currency has resumed appreciating. The appreciation has slowed
  export volume growth, but since 2004, Brazil's growth has yielded
  increases in employment and real wages. The resilience in the
  economy stems from commodity-driven current account surpluses, and
  sound macroeconomic policies that have bolstered international
  reserves to historically high levels, reduced public debt, and
  allowed a significant decline in real interest rates. A floating
  exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and a tight fiscal
  policy are the three pillars of the economic program. From 2003 to
  2007, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first
  current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains coupled
  with high commodity prices contributed to the surge in exports.
  Brazil improved its debt profile in 2006 by shifting its debt burden
  toward real denominated and domestically held instruments. "LULA" DA
  SILVA restated his commitment to fiscal responsibility by
  maintaining the country's primary surplus during the 2006 election.
  Following his second inauguration, "LULA" DA SILVA announced a
  package of further economic reforms to reduce taxes and increase
  investment in infrastructure. The government's goal of achieving
  strong growth while reducing the debt burden is likely to create
  inflationary pressures.

British Indian Ocean Territory All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory earns foreign exchange by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.

British Virgin Islands
  The economy, one of the most stable and
  prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism,
  generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated
  820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005.
  In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore
  registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and
  incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly
  400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The
  adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which
  provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory
  gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British
  Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business.
  Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor
  soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements.
  Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the
  British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since
  1959.

Brunei
  Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that encompasses a
  mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government
  regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and
  natural gas production account for just over half of GDP and more
  than 90% of exports. Per capita GDP is among the highest in Asia,
  and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income
  from domestic production. The government provides for all medical
  services and free education through the university level and
  subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that
  steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine
  internal social cohesion. Plans for the future include upgrading the
  labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and
  tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base
  beyond oil and gas.

Bulgaria
  Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on
  1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic
  downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated
  commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but
  have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current
  account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since
  2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment,
  but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and
  the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.

Burkina Faso
  One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked
  Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base.
  About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture,
  which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash
  crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing
  countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby in the
  World Trade Organization for fewer subsidies to producers in other
  competing countries. Since 1998, Burkina Faso has embarked upon a
  gradual but successful privatization of state-owned enterprises.
  Having revised its investment code in 2004, Burkina Faso hopes to
  attract foreign investors. Thanks to this new code and other
  legislation favoring the mining sector, the country has seen an
  upswing in gold exploration and production. While the bitter
  internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is beginning to be
  resolved, it is still having a negative effect on Burkina Faso's
  trade and employment. In 2007 higher costs for energy and imported
  foodstuffs, as well as low cotton prices, dampened a GDP growth rate
  that had averaged 6% in the last 10 years. Burkina Faso received a
  Millennium Challenge Account threshold grant to improve girls'
  education at the primary school level, and appears likely to receive
  a grant in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, and land reform.

Burma Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Despite Burma's increasing oil and gas revenue, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated due to the regime's mismanagement of the economy. Lacking monetary or fiscal stability, the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions in August 2003 including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. Further, a poor investment climate hampers attracting outside investment slowing the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber with the latter especially causing environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of 2007, the largest private banks operated under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Moreover, the September 2007 crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrators, including thousands of monks, further strained the economy as the tourism industry, which directly employs about 500,000 people, suffered dramatic declines in foreign visitor levels. In November 2007, the European Union announced new sanctions banning investment and trade in Burmese gems, timber and precious stones, while the United States expanded its sanctions list to include more Burmese government and military officials and their family members, as well as prominent regime business cronies, their family members, and associated companies. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be as large as the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism.

Burundi
  Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an
  underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly
  agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on
  subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea
  exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The
  ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather
  conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi
  minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the
  coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the
  population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade
  resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000
  refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally.
  Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15
  adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short
  supply. Burundi's GDP grew around 5% annually in 2006-07. Political
  stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and
  economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high
  poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low
  administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms.
  Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from
  bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a
  corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced
  government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries.

Cambodia From 2001 to 2004, the economy grew at an average rate of 6.4%, driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector and tourism. The US and Cambodia signed a Bilateral Textile Agreement, which gave Cambodia a guaranteed quota of US textile imports and established a bonus for improving working conditions and enforcing Cambodian labor laws and international labor standards in the industry. With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, Cambodia-based textile producers were forced to compete directly with lower-priced producing countries such as China and India. Better-than-expected garment sector performance led to more than 9% growth in 2007. Its vibrant garment industry employs more than 350,000 people and contributes more than 70% of Cambodia's exports. The Cambodian government has committed itself to a policy supporting high labor standards in an attempt to maintain buyer interest. In 2005, exploitable oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters, representing a new revenue stream for the government if commercial extraction begins. Mining also is attracting significant investor interest, particularly in the northeastern parts of the country, and the government has said opportunities exist for mining bauxite, gold, iron and gems. In 2006, a US-Cambodia bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) was signed and the first round of discussions took place in early 2007. The tourism industry continues to grow rapidly, with foreign arrivals reaching 2 million in 2007. In 2007 the government signed a joint venture agreement with two companies to form a new national airline. The long-term development of the economy remains a daunting challenge. The Cambodian government is working with bilateral and multilateral donors, including the World Bank and IMF, to address the country's many pressing needs. The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia's demographic imbalance. More than 50% of the population is less than 21 years old. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure.

Cameroon
  Because of its modest oil resources and favorable
  agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed
  primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces
  many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries,
  such as a top-heavy civil