Economy - overview The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing.

GDP purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate NA%

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: NA%
industry: 15% (1993)
services: NA%

Population below poverty line 23% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0% (1999 est.)

Labor force 60,000 (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate 15% (2000 est.)

Budget
revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $431 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - production 825 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 767.25 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef

Exports $75.7 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products

Exports - partners US 25%

Imports $203 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods

Imports - partners US 23%, Japan 19%

Debt - external $NA

Economic aid - recipient Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam

Currency US dollar (USD)

Currency code USD

Exchange rates the US dollar is used

Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September

NOTE: The information regarding Guam on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guam Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Guam Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.