Kiribati: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

The 2023 Article IV Consultation with Kiribati discusses that the recovery is expected to gain momentum in 2023. Real gross domestic product growth is projected at 2.5 percent in 2023, as economic activities return to a more normal state with the resumption of large infrastructure projects and improved weather conditions. The authorities’ strategy to boost export competitiveness and promote private sector development is encouraging and needs to be further augmented with robust structural reforms. Continued efforts to build statistical capacity will facilitate data-based policymaking. The authorities need to strengthen institutional capacity to produce high-quality national accounts, government finance statistics, and financial sector data in a timely manner to support sound economic management. It is encouraging that the authorities plan to implement the IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System by publishing economic data on a National Summary Data Page, which will help improve the availability of timely statistics.