On September 7, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation 1 with Kiribati. Kiribati’s recent economic performance has been strong. Growth is estimated to have reached 3.5 percent in 2015, supported by record high fishing revenue, donor financed infrastructure projects and reconstruction in the aftermath of cyclone Pam. Growth is projected to moderate somewhat to around 3 percent this year, while inflation remains subdued owing to low food and commodity prices. The fiscal position has improved
Development Indicators . Recent Developments, Outlook, and Risks 3. Economic performance has been strong, both relative to Kiribati’s history and to its peers. The economy grew at an average annual pace of 5¼ percent in 2015–17, compared to 1½ percent in 2000–14. 1 The stronger growth reflects in large part higher public spending financed by record-high fishing revenue and donor-financed infrastructure investment. Inflation remained subdued, in line with low inflation in trading partners and international food prices but also reflecting one-off domestic factors
in 2015, thanks to the record high fishing revenue . Donor-financed infrastructure investment and reconstruction in the aftermath of cyclone Pam further supported growth. Inflation remained contained at around 0.5 percent owing to low food and commodity prices, in line with the global trends. 5. High fishing revenue contributed to a recurrent fiscal balance of almost 50 percent of GDP in 2015 , more than offsetting the increase in government recurrent spending of 13 percent. Public debt increased from less than 10 percent of GDP in 2014 to 23 percent of GDP at
license fees and donor support. Kiribati’s sovereign wealth fund, the Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (RERF), was established in 1956 from phosphate mining proceeds. Mining ceased in 1979 and in recent years, fishing revenues have been used to replenish the fund. 2. Climate change continues to pose significant challenges . Kiribati is one of the island states which stands to lose the most from the effects of climate change, including but not limited to drought, heightened incidences of natural disasters, loss of groundwater, and rising sea levels leading to coastal