Kiribati
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A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. Source: The Places Factbook, CIA. |
The
Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete
independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all
claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty
of friendship with Kiribati.