Overview: The country has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Real GDP declined about 8% in 1987, as the fish catch fell sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production was hampered by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real GDP growing by 17%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production and a good fish catch. Following the strong surge in output in 1988, GNP increased 1% in both 1989 and 1990.

National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $36.8 million (1990 est.)

National product real growth rate: 1.5% (1992 est.)

National product per capita: $525 (1990 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $29.9 million
expenditures: $16.3 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1990 est.)

Exports: $4.2 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities: copra 50%, seaweed 16%, fish 15%
partners: Denmark, Fiji, US

Imports: $33.1 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
partners: Australia 40%, Japan 18%, Fiji 17%, NZ 6%, US 4% (1991)

External debt: $2 million (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 0.7% (1992 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 5,000 kW
production: 13 million kWh
consumption per capita: 190 kWh (1990)

Industries: fishing, handicrafts

Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about 65% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $273 million

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.4364 (January 1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989)

Fiscal year: NA

NOTE: The information regarding Kiribati on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kiribati Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kiribati Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.