Rich resource base. Minerals û notably copper, cobalt, diamonds û provide 85% of export earnings. Energy: oil; possibly Africa's largest hydro-power potential. Rich soil; much unutilized arable land. Trade surplus in normal years.
Weaknesses
Legacy of 25 years of mismanagement and corruption: $10 billion foreign debt; withdrawal of crucial foreign aid; inadequate, disintegrating social and transport infrastructures; lack of food self-sufficiency. Political instability. Hyperinflation. Loss of export income. Withdrawal of foreign investment.
Profile
In the early 1990s, political instability, combined with the legacies of 25 years of mismanagement, had brought the economy near to collapse. Real GDP growth in 1990û1993 averaged û8% a year; in 1993 it topped û12%. The budget deficit is at record levels, in part due to hyperinflation, which was not ended by the introduction of the new "zaire" û worth 3 million old "zaires" û in late 1993. Lack of spares and power cuts have closed many mines and halted most other industry. Strikes and riots over plummeting living standards have hastened the flight of foreign capital. Subsistence farming and petty trade keep most people going. But even if political stability is restored, Zaire's immediate outlook is grim. Resumption of large-scale aid and debt relief, essential to rebuild the economy, will depend on difficult reforms and paying off arrears to the IMF and other creditors. In the long term, Zaire's rich resources hold out hope of prosperity.
