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Kiribati Economy 1996

Overview:

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati 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 5% 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 10%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production and a good fish catch. GDP then fell by 2.2% in 1989 and by 2.9% in 1990, but has risen by about 3% annually in 1991-93. Foreign financial aid, largely from the UK and Japan, is a critical supplement to GDP, amounting to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years.

National product:

GDP - purchasing power parity - $62 million (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate:

2.9% (1993 est.)

National product per capita:

$800 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

6.5% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate:

2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)

Budget:

revenues:

$29.6 million

expenditures:

$32.8 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1993 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:

131 kWh (1993)

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 - 1.3058 (January 1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990)

Fiscal year:

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