Economy of Guam


The economy of Guam depends mainly on US military spending and on tourist revenue. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry grew rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels, golf courses and other tourist amenities. More than 1.1 million tourists visit Guam each year including about 1,000,000 from Japan and 150,000 from Korea. Setbacks in the 1990s include numerous super-typhoons, a M7.8 earthquake, and a Korean airline crash.
More recently, SARS, the Iraq war and most importantly the Japan economy and accompanying yen-to-dollar adjustments have significantly impacted tourism with spending per person in the retail and attraction sectors dropping to nearly 50% of the peak levels reached in the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, as of 2005 tourism is finally starting to stabilize and recover.
Most food and industrial goods are imported. As Guam's tourist economy continues slowly to recover, over $1 billion in military spending on the island is projected in the coming several years. The Government of Guam is the biggest employer on the island, with a payroll and retirement burden that has led in recent years to an ongoing and growing budget deficit.

Statistics

Gross domestic product

GDP: purchasing power parity – $5.79 billion
GDP growth rate: 0.4%
GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP per capita (PPP)]: $35,600
GDP composition by sector:
  • Agriculture: N/A
  • Industry: N/A
  • Services: N/A

Income and employment

Population below poverty line: 23%
Inflation rate : 1%
Labor force: 69,390
Labor force by occupation: federal and territorial government 31%, private 69%
Unemployment rate: 4.5%

Core general fund

  • Revenues: $718.5 million
  • Expenditures: $725.0 million, excluding expenses funded by federal grants

Industry

Industries: US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: N/A
Electricity production: 1,734 GWh
Electricity production by source:
Electricity consumption: 1,613 GWh

Trade

Agricultural products: fruits, copra, vegetables, eggs, pork, poultry, beef

Exports

Total: $1.403 billion
Exported commodities: refined petroleum, scrap iron, scrap copper, trunks and cases, aircraft parts
Export partners: Singapore 30%, Taiwan 20%, South Korea 14%, Philippines 12%, Hong Kong 8%

Imports

Total: $3.552 billion
Imported commodities: refined petroleum, cars, raw iron bars, electric generating sets, trunks and cases
Import partners: South Korea 37%, Singapore 35%, Japan 12%, Taiwan 3%, Hong Kong 3%
External debt: N/A
Economic aid received: N/A; note – although Guam receives no foreign aid, it does receive large transfer payments from the general revenues of the US Federal Treasury into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes. Guamanians do however contribute to Social Security and Medicare through FICA taxes.
Currency: 1 United States dollar = 100 cents
Fiscal year: 1 October – 30 September