Overview: Uzbekistan is an arid, landlocked country, of which 11% consists of heavily cultivated and irrigated river valleys. Over 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second largest exporter of cotton, a major producer of gold and oil, and a major regional producer of chemicals and machinery. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million stand-by agreement in late 1996 due to measures taken by the government to counter negative external conditions generated by Asian and Russian financial exports and currency controls within its economy already largely closed. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the stagnation of the economy. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation and an unfavorable economic climate led to disappointing growth in 2001. However, in December 2001 the government expressed renewed interest in economic reform, seeking advice from the IMF and other financial institutions (World 7). Since independence, Uzbekistan has sought to support inefficient state enterprises and protect consumers from the shocks of rapid economic reform. These policies eventually led to severe inflation and an economic crisis. The reforms brought inflation to manageable levels and small businesses began to grow. Larger institutions are seeking joint ventures with international companies. However, currency and trade restrictions remain too tight to encourage significant foreign investment. Falling global prices of gold, copper and cotton have also hurt the economy. A privatization program is slowly being implemented with international support. Privatization is necessary to raise hard currency and promote economic development (Republic 4).GDP: purchasing power parity—$62 billion (2001 est.)GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,500 ( 2001 estimate) GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 33% industry: 24% services: 43% (2001 estimate) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23% (2001 estimate) Workforce: 11.9 million (1998 estimate) ) Workforce: By occupation: Agriculture 44%, Industry 20%, Services 36% (1995) Unemployment Rate: 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 estimate) Budget: Revenue: $4 billion Expenditures: 4, $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (1999 est.) Industries: textiles, food processing, machinery building, metallurgy, natural gas, and chemicals Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2000) Electricity production: 40.075 billion kWh (2000) Electricity production by source: fossil fuel: 86.95% hydroelectric: 13.05% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) Electricity—consumption: 4189 billion of kWh (2000)Electricity—exports: 4.1 billion kWh (2000)Electricity—imports: 5 billion kWh (2000)Agriculture—products: cotton, vegetables, fruit, wheat; LivestockExports: $2.8 billion (2001 estimate) Exports: Raw materials: cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, foodstuffs, and automobiles (est. 1998) Exports: partner: Russia16. 7%, Switzerland 8.3%, United Kingdom 7.2% Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Western Europe Imports: $4.1 billion (1998)