Overview: The economy's base is agriculture, which employs about 70% of the labor force and contributes 40% to GDP. Coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops and make up two-thirds of exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The manufacturing sector accounts for only 11% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings, but the island remains dependent on sizable external aid and remittances to offset its trade deficit.

National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $92 million (FY90)

National product real growth rate: 0.4% (FY92 est.)

National product per capita: $900 (FY90)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (FY92 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $36.4 million; expenditures $68.1 million, including capital expenditures of $33.2 million (FY91 est.)

External debt: $47.5 million (FY91)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.7% (FY90); accounts for 11% of GDP

Electricity: 6,000 kW capacity; 8 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries: tourism, fishing

Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; dominated by coconut, copra, and banana production; vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper

Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $16 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $258 million

Currency: 1 pa'anga (T$)=100 seniti

Exchange rates: pa'anga (T$) per US$1 - 1.3996 (January 1993), 1.3471 (1992), 1.2961 (1991), 1.2809 (1990), 1.2637 (1989), 1.2799 (1988)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June