IMF Staff Country Reports

The 2024 Article IV Consultation with Kiribati discusses that the economy strengthened after the removal of all coronavirus disease 2019 restrictions in the second half of 2022. Kiribati is among the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change. Infrastructure gaps compound already challenging constraints imposed by distance and dispersion, limiting the development of the private sector in the state-dominated economy, and cementing its reliance on imports, especially for essential commodities such as food and fuel. IMF team recommended initiating an ambitious fiscal consolidation effort through scaling back recurrent spending and strengthening the fiscal policy framework. It is also imperative to implement structural reforms to raise private sector employment and investment, enhance export competitiveness, close infrastructure and human capital gaps, expand financial access, better utilize natural resources, and strengthen institutions and governance. Additionally, it is required to continue capacity development to produce high-quality statistics in a timely manner to support data-driven policy formulation.