sion: Ambassador Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414
FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236
consulate(s) general: Honolulu

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joan M. PLAISTED
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro
mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
Islands 96960-1379
telephone: [692] 247-4011
FAX: [692] 247-4012

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.)

Budget:
revenues: $80.1 million
expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5
million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and
pearls, offshore banking (embryonic)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity-capacity: 16,000 kW (1994)

Electricity-production: 57 million kWh (1994)

Electricity-co