_#_Member of: ESCAP (associate), ICAO, SPC, SPF, UN
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL; Chancery at 2433 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-5414;
US—Ambassador William BODDE, Jr.; Embassy at NA address (mailing address is P. O. Box 680, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-4380); telephone 692-4011
_#_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 #_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. In 1987 the US Government provided grants of $40 million out of the Marshallese budget of $55 million.
_#_GDP: $63 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.6% (1981)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $55 million; expenditures NA, including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.)
_#_Exports: $2.5 million (f.o.b., 1985);