Madagascar Economic Forecast

Interestingly, Madagascar is a country with a perfect climate and diverse natural resources but even so, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world. In fact, the level of problems associated with this country’s economy is significant, which have been made worse by many years of economic stagnation and decline. Starting in 1971 and looking at the next 20 years, Madagascar moved from being ranked at number 30 for poor nations to number 10.

Interestingly, Madagascar is a country with a perfect climate and diverse natural resources but even so, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world. In fact, the level of problems associated with this country’s economy is significant, which have been made worse by many years of economic stagnation and decline. Starting in 1971 and looking at the next 20 years, Madagascar moved from being ranked at number 30 for poor nations to number 10.

During this same 20-year period, the Gross Domestic Product per capita dropped by a whopping 40%. On a positive note, the country of Madagascar began to experience some improvement in 1990 but with the world facing the financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, slowing occurred. Today, the government of Madagascar understands that resource management must improve, soil erosion needs a solution, and other sources of income need to be identified and implemented since the agriculture sector is often faced with cyclones, drought, and locust plagues.

Madagascar GDP Forecast

Starting in 1990, Madagascar started to see some economic improvement following a very difficult 20-year period. With this economic growth, some was associated with foreign investment to include increased privatization, along with EPZ development. While the government of Madagascar realizes that reform is critical for this country to survive, the body remains weak. That coupled with ongoing corruption makes any real change difficult. Now, for the Madagascar GDP (Gross Domestic Product, Current Prices, US Dollars), real GDP saw a decline of almost 13% during 2002. In addition, this year experienced a decline of inflows of foreign investments and the reputation as a leader of AGOA was tarnished. However, once the country’s crisis declined, the economy was boosted, resulting in a 10% GDP growth during 2003. By 2005, a GDP growth of 6.5% was seen and although the economy has leveled off and the country faces many challenges, steps are being taken to move the economy in the right direction.

Madagascar Unemployment Forecast

Pertaining to the Madagascar population, the most recent reports show that just over 19 million people live in this part of the world. Of these, the agriculture sector accounts for about 78% of workers, followed by the industry sector. Although growth within this country is relatively slow, change is still needed to improve the Madagascar unemployment rate that currently stands at 5.9%. The good news is that a number of projects have been implemented to combat the high unemployment rate such as those in the mining, oil, and gas sectors. However, tourism, textile, and light manufacturing also provide work opportunities.

Madagascar Inflation Rate Forecast

At the end of 2008, the Madagascar inflation rate was reported at 9.2%. From the previous year, this showed a change of 10.68% from the numbers associated with 2007. Then by year-end 2009, the inflation rate had changed by 13.04%, pushing the inflation rate to 8.00%. Experts speculate that the numbers will drop slightly to the end of 2010. For numbers beyond 2010, no predictions have been reported as of yet.

Madagascar Current Account Balance Forecast

On to the Madagascar current account balance, 2008 closed at minus $1.03 billion in US dollars. Over the next year, a very small change occurred or 10.77%, putting 2009 at minus $1.003 billion. To determine the future for the current account balance, experts look at the country’s net trade specific to goods and services, as well as net earnings and net transfer payments.