t-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with
four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two
stripes

Economy

Economy - overview: Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the
economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and
the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons,
and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish
processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary source of
foreign exchange, employs about 10% of the labor force, and remains
the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural
resources, and imports far exceed exports. The government is drafting
economic reforms designed to increase revenue and compensate for
reductions in US Government grants - in 1994, the US Government
provided grants of $50 million, equal to 55% of the Marshall Islands'
GDP. About 25% of the government's FY95/96 budget was devoted to debt
repayment. In 1996, efforts to stabilize the economy included a 27%
reduction in the government's work force and a 10% cut in the budget.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $94 million (1995 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,680 (1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 16%
industry: 14%
services : 70% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 4% (1995 est.)

Labor force:
total : 4,800 (1986)
by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)

Budget:
revenues : $67.2 million
expenditures: $79.6 million, including capital expenditures of $21.6
million (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and
pearls, offshore banking (embryonic)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 16,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 57 million kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits;
pigs, chickens

Exports:
total value: $21.3 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: fish, coconut oil, live animals, trochus shells
partners: US, Japan, Australia

Imports:
total value: $69.9 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and
tobacco
partners: US, Japan, Australia

Debt - external: $170 million (1994)

Economic aid:
recipient: under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US