US; there is an honorary
consulate in Honolulu

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji
is accredited to Kiribati

Flag description:
the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a
yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal
wavy white stripes to represent the ocean

Economy Kiribati

Economy - overview:
A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few
natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were
exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and
fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy
has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is
constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure,
and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more
than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of
development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives.
Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and
China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on
merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year.
Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government
budget from an Australian trust fund.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$206.4 million (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$76.4 million (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.3% (2005)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2%
services: 66.8% (2004)

Labor force:
7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001
est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32%
services: 65.3%

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

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.5% (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY05)

Agriculture - products:
copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish

Industries:
fishing, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (1991 est.)

Electricity - production:
13 million kWh (2004)

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