Infrastructural bottlenecks, weak foreign investment (especially in the non-mining sector) and dwindling aid inflows have remained the critical constraints to Eritrea’s economic performance since its independence in 1993. Nevertheless, the economy grew by 8.7% in 2011 thanks to the commencement of full operations in the gold and silver Bisha mine and to the production of cement from the cement factory in Massawa. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have fallen sharply to 5.5% in 2012 due to an unanticipated drop in production at the Bisha mine. The decline in GDP might also be attributed to a reduction in remittances from Eritreans in the Diaspora and to the fall in the price of gold in 2011-12. Growth is expected to improve to 7% in 2013 and then decrease slightly to 6.5% in 2014, driven by gold production in the Koka and Zara mines and by copper production in the Bisha mine. Although Eritrea is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on child health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and access to safe drinking water, slow progress has been made in eradicating extreme poverty and the achievement of universal primary education.