Flag description: 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
@Marshall Islands:Economy
Economy-overview: US Government assistance is the mainstay of the economy, constituting an important supplement to GDP. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. The government is drafting economic reforms designed to increase revenue and compensate for reductions in US Government grants-in FY95/96, the US Government provided grants of $68 million, equal to roughly 70% of the country's GDP. More than 25% of the government's FY95/96 budget was devoted to debt repayment. In 1996, efforts to stabilize the economy included a 27% reduction in the government's work force and a 10% cut in the budget.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$98 million (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 2% (1996 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$1,680 (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 13% services: 72% (1995)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 4% (FY95/96)
Labor force: total: 4,800 (1986) by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)