e, Long Island, Majuro
mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
Islands 96960-1379; Majuro, 20521-4380 (pouch)
telephone: [692] 247-4011
FAX: [692] 247-4012

Flag: blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-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
-------

Economic 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. A few cattle ranches supply the domestic
meat market. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish
processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary source of
foreign exchange and employs about 10% of the labor force. 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 1995/96
budget is devoted to debt repayment.

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

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

GDP per capita: $1,680 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1995 est.)

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

Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
capacity: 42,000 kW
production: 80 million kWh
consumption per capita: 1,840 kWh (1990)

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

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

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

External debt: $170 million (1994)

Economic aid:
re