OVERCOMING the contraction of the previous year, the Marshallese economy is estimated to have expanded by about 0.5 per cent in the financial year 2015 (ending September 30), as the fisheries sector recovered.
After a moderate inflation of 1.1 per cent in its financial year 2014, the International Monetary Fund headline inflation dropped to -2.2 per cent in financial year 2015 amid falling oil and utility prices. The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an isolated and thinly-populated island state that is vulnerable to climate change owing to its low elevation.
Its economy is highly dependent on external aid, as the base for private sector growth is limited by its small size, remoteness, and dispersion over a vast ocean area.
Source: The Fiji Times