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ECONOMY OF KIRIBATI
Kiribati is a small, growing, environmentally fragile, Pacific island economy; major financial support from remittances, aid, and phosphate mining fund; tourism and fishing industries; poor business climate; inadequate anticorruption efforts; poor fiscal management. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Sectors of the Economy Composition of GDP by Origin) agriculture: 23 percent (2016 estimate)
industry: 7 percent (2016 estimate)
services: 70 percent (2016 estimate)
comparison rankings: agriculture 37; industry 216; services 70
Natural Resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979), coconuts (copra), fish
Industries: fishing, handicrafts. Industrial Production Growth -1.57 percent (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 172. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Fiscal Year: NA. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Economic Statistics for Kiribati
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (purchasing power parity): $249.64 million (2021 estimate)
$245.951 million (2020 estimate)
$247.304 million (2019 estimate). Data are in 2017 dollars; ranking compared to other countries in the world: 219. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Growth: 1.5 percent (2021 estimate)
-0.55 percent (2020 estimate)
-0.54 percent (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 172. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Per Capita GDP: $1,900 (2021 estimate)
$1,900 (2020 estimate)
$2,000 (2019 estimate). Data are in 2017 dollars; ranking compared to other countries in the world: 212. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
GDP: (official exchange): $197 million (2017 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Inflation (consumer prices): -1.81 percent (2019 estimate)
0.56 percent (2018 estimate)
0.36 percent (2017 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 226
Agriculture in Kiribati
Agricultural products: coconuts, roots/tubers nes, bananas, vegetables, taro, tropical fruit, poultry, pork, nuts, eggs. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Land Use: agricultural land: 42 percent (2018 estimate). Arable Land: 2.5 percent (2018 estimate); permanent crops: 39.5 percent (2018 estimate); permanent pasture: 0 percent (2018 estimate); forest: 15 percent (2018 estimate); other: 43 percent (2018 estimate). Irrigated Land: 0 square kilometers (2022). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Labor, Poverty and Unemployment
Labor Force: 39,000 (2010 estimate).economically active, not including subsistence farmers; ranking compared to other countries in the world: 198. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Labor Force by Occupation: agriculture: 15 percent; industry: 10 percent; services: 75 percent (2010)
Unemployment Rate: 30.6 percent (2010 estimate)
6.1 percent (2005); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 3. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Youth Unemployment Rate (ages 15-24): total: 22.5 percent; male: 21.2 percent; female: 24.6 percent (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 72. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Population Below Poverty Line: NA. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Gini Index Coefficient Distribution: 27.8 (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 163. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share: lowest 10 percent: NA; highest 10 percent: NA. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Trade in Kiribati
Current Account Balance: $20.251 million (2021 estimate)
$71.279 million (2020 estimate)
$86.818 million (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 71. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Exports (data in current year dollars): $10.754 million (2021 estimate); $21.228 million (2020 estimate); $32.516 million (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 217. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Main Exports: skipjacks, tuna, fish fillets, ships, coconut oil, copra (2021). Export Partners: Thailand 53 percent, Philippines 17 percent, South Korea 10 percent, Japan 9 percent (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Imports (data in current year dollars): $201.984 million (2021 estimate); $148.77 million (2020 estimate); $177.149 million (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 210. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Main Imports: refined petroleum, netting, raw sugar, rice, poultry meats (2019). Import Partners: China 20 percent, Fiji 19 percent, Australia 12 percent, Taiwan 11 percent, South Korea 11 percent, New Zealand 7 percent, Japan 5 percent (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Debt and Foreign Exchange
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold: $0 (31 December 2017 estimate)
$8.37 million (31 December 2010 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 196. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Debt (External): $40.9 million (2016 estimate)
$32.3 million (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 196. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Public Debt: 26.3 percent of GDP (2017 estimate)
22.9 percent of GDP (2016 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 177. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Taxes: 26.28 percent (of GDP) (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 42. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Currency Exchange Rates: the Australian dollar circulates as legal tender
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar
1.331 (2021 estimate)
1.453 (2020 estimate)
1.439 (2019 estimate)
1.338 (2018 estimate)
1.305 (2017 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Image Sources:
Text Sources: CIA World Factbook, 2023; “Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume 2: Oceania,” edited by Terence E. Hays, 1991, Wikipedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated August 2023