ing
sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to
represent the ocean

*Kiribati, Economy

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% (1990 est.)
National product per capita:
$525 (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.8% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $29.9 million; expenditures $16.3 million, including capital
expenditures of $14.0 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$5.8 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
copra 18%, fish 17%, seaweed 13%
partners:
EC 50%, Fiji 22%, US 18% (1990)
Imports:
$26.7 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
partners:
Australia 33%, Japan 24%, Fiji 19%, NZ 6%, US 6% (1990)
External debt:
$2 million (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 0% (1988 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP
Electricity:
5,000 kW capacity; 13 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture:
accounts for 15% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about
95% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro,
breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid:
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 - 1.4837 (January 1993), 1.3600 (1992),
1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988)
Fiscal year:
NA

*Kiribati, Communications

Highways:
640 km of motorable roads
Inland waterways:
small