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

1999. US economic engagement under the
  Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement
  (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted the garment and
  automotive parts exports and investment by providing tariff-free
  access to the US. Haiti suffers from high inflation, a lack of
  investment because of insecurity and limited infrastructure, and a
  severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World
  Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. The government
  relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal
  sustainability. Remittances are the primary source of foreign
  exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the
  earnings from exports.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands
  The islands have no indigenous
  economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited
  fishing in the surrounding waters.

Holy See (Vatican City)
  This unique, noncommercial economy is
  supported financially by an annual contribution (known as Peter's
  Pence) from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world; by the
  sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; by fees
  for admission to museums; and by the sale of publications.
  Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable
  portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers
  are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.

Honduras
  Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and
  one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an
  extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive
  unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central
  America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the
  Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Despite
  improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is
  growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial
  losses from the state energy and telephone companies. Honduras is
  the fastest growing remittance destination in the region with
  inflows representing over a quarter of GDP, equivalent to nearly
  three-quarters of exports. The economy relies heavily on a narrow
  range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable
  to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, however,
  investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are
  slowly diversifying the economy. Growth remains dependent on the
  economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of
  the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining
  investment.

Hong Kong
  Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on
  international trade. In 2006, the total value of goods and services
  trade, including the sizable share of reexports, was equivalent to
  400% of GDP. The territory has become increasingly integrated with
  mainland China over the past few years through trade, tourism, and
  financial links. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest
  trading partner, accounting for 46% of Hong Kong's total trade by
  value in 2006. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions,
  the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5
  million in 2001 to 13.6 million in 2006, when they outnumbered
  visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also
  established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms
  seeking to list abroad. Bolstered by several successful initial
  public offerings in early 2007, by September 2007 mainland companies
  accounted for one-third of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock
  Exchange, and more than half of the Exchange's market
  capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing
  industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown
  rapidly and now accounts for 91% of the territory's GDP. Hong Kong's
  natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be
  imported. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2007, despite
  the economy suffering two recessions during the Asian financial
  crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Hong Kong
  continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining
  an arrangement established in 1983.

Hungary
  Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to
  a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of
  the EU-25 average. The private sector accounts for more than 80% of
  GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are
  widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more
  than $60 billion since 1989. Hungary issues investment-grade
  sovereign debt. International observers, however, have expressed
  concerns over Hungary's fiscal and current account deficits. In
  2007, Hungary eliminated a trade deficit that had persisted for
  several years. Inflation declined from 14% in 1998 to a low of 3.7%
  in 2006, but jumped to 7.8% in 2007. Unemployment has persisted
  above 6%. Hungary's labor force participation rate of 57% is one of
  the lowest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
  Development (OECD). Germany is by far Hungary's largest economic
  partner. Policy challenges include cutting the public sector deficit
  to 4% of GDP by 2008, from about 6% in 2007. The government's
  austerity program of tax hikes and subsidy cuts has reduced
  Hungary's large budget deficit, but the reforms have dampened
  domestic consumption, slowing GDP growth to about 2% in 2007. The
  government will need to pass additional reforms to ensure the
  long-term stability of public finances. The government plans to
  eventually lower its public sector deficit to below 3% of GDP to
  adopt the euro.

Iceland
  Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically
  capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including
  generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even
  distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources
  (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily
  on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and
  employs 6% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to
  declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for
  its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and
  ferrosilicon. Substantial foreign investment in the aluminum and
  hydropower sectors has boosted economic growth which, nevertheless,
  has been volatile and characterized by recurrent imbalances.
  Government policies include reducing the current account deficit,
  limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising
  agricultural and fishing policies, and diversifying the economy. The
  government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of
  Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing
  resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into
  manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new
  developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial
  services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding,
  with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. The 2006
  closure of the US military base at Keflavik had very little impact
  on the national economy; Iceland's low unemployment rate aided
  former base employees in finding alternate employment.

India
  India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village
  farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern
  industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major
  source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's
  output with less than one third of its labor force. About
  three-fifths of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United
  Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to articulate an economic
  reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to
  improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance.
  The government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment.
  Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few
  key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in
  sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental
  progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's
  vast and growing market. Privatization of government-owned
  industries remains stalled and continues to generate political
  debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government and from
  its Left Front allies continues to restrain needed initiatives. The
  economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the
  decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points.
  India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006, and again in 2007,
  significantly expanding production of manufactures. India is
  capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in
  the English language to become a major exporter of software services
  and software workers. Economic expansion has helped New Delhi
  continue to make progress in reducing its federal fiscal deficit.
  However, strong growth combined with easy consumer credit and a real
  estate boom fueled inflation concerns in 2006 and 2007, leading to a
  series of central bank interest rate hikes that have slowed credit
  growth and eased inflation concerns. The huge and growing population
  is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.

Indian Ocean
  The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting
  the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas.
  It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum
  products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its
  fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries
  for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia,
  Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly
  for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped
  in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western
  Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production
  comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and
  offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering
  countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
  and Thailand.

Indonesia Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has been undergoing significant economic reforms under President YUDHOYONO. Indonesia's debt-to-GDP ratio has been declining steadily, its foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high of over $50 billion, and its stock market has been one of the three best performers in the world in 2006 and 2007, as global investors sought out higher returns in emerging markets. The government has introduced significant reforms in the financial sector, including tax and customs reforms, the introduction of Treasury bills, and improved capital market supervision. Indonesia's new investment law, passed in March 2007, seeks to address some of the concerns of foreign and domestic investors. Indonesia still struggles with poverty and unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia has been slow to privatize over 100 state-owned enterprises, several of which have monopolies in key sectors. The non-bank financial sector, including pension funds and insurance, remains weak. Capital markets are underdeveloped. The high global price of oil in 2007 increased the cost of domestic fuel and electricity subsidies, and are contributing to concerns about higher food prices. Located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" Indonesia remains vulnerable to volcanic and tectonic disasters. Significant progress has been made in rebuilding Aceh after the devastating December 2004 tsunami, and the province now shows more economic activity than before the disaster. Unfortunately, Indonesia suffered new disasters in 2006 and early 2007 including: a major earthquake near Yogyakarta, an industrial accident in Sidoarjo, East Java that created a "mud volcano," a tsunami in South Java, and major flooding in Jakarta, all of which caused additional damages in the billions of dollars. Donors are assisting Indonesia with its disaster mitigation and early warning efforts.

Iran
  Iran's economy is marked by an inefficient state sector,
  reliance on the oil sector (which provides 85% of government
  revenues), and statist policies that create major distortions
  throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state.
  Private sector activity is typically small-scale workshops, farming,
  and services. President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD failed to make any
  notable progress in fulfilling the goals of the nation's latest
  five-year plan. A combination of price controls and subsidies,
  particularly on food and energy, continue to weigh down the economy,
  and administrative controls, widespread corruption, and other
  rigidities undermine the potential for private-sector-led growth. As
  a result of these inefficiencies, significant informal market
  activity flourishes and shortages are common. High oil prices in
  recent years have enabled Iran to amass nearly $70 billion in
  foreign exchange reserves. Yet this increased revenue has not eased
  economic hardships, which include double-digit unemployment and
  inflation - inflation climbed to 26% as of June 2008. The economy
  has seen only moderate growth. Iran's educated population, economic
  inefficiency and insufficient investment - both foreign and domestic
  - have prompted an increasing number of Iranians to seek employment
  overseas, resulting in significant "brain drain."

Iraq
  Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has
  traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings.
  Although looting, insurgent attacks, and sabotage have undermined
  economy rebuilding efforts, economic activity is beginning to pick
  up in areas recently secured by the US military surge. Oil exports
  are around levels seen before Operation Iraqi Freedom, and total
  government revenues have benefited from high oil prices. Despite
  political uncertainty, Iraq is making some progress in building the
  institutions needed to implement economic policy and has negotiated
  a debt reduction agreement with the Paris Club and a new Stand-By
  Arrangement with the IMF. Iraq has received pledges for $13.5
  billion in foreign aid for 2004-07 from outside of the US, more than
  $33 billion in total pledges. The International Compact with Iraq
  was established in May 2007 to integrate Iraq into the regional and
  global economy, and the Iraqi government