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 US Government provides about 70% of the budget.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $75 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6% (1992)
National product per capita: $1,500 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $106 million
expenditures: $128.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1993)
Exports: $3.9 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities: coconut oil, fish, live animals, trichus shells
partners: US, Japan, Australia
Imports: $62.9 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, beverages and
tobacco, fuels
partners: US, Japan, Australia
External debt: $NA