Interior Funds Annual Economic Reviews and Statistical Updates for Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs supports annual economic and statistical updates in the three freely associated states (FAS) of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau through the Economic Monitoring and Analysis Program (EconMAP) of Graduate School USA. In August 2018, the EconMAP team published its Fiscal Year 2017 economic briefs for each of the three countries showing that the FSM economy grew by 3.2 percent in FY 2017, while the RMI economy grew by 3.6 percent. Palau, which has experienced a recent reduction in tourism from 147,000 visitors to 122,000 visitors, experienced an overall economic decline of 4.7 percent. 

“Secretary of the Interior Zinke and I are pleased to provide continued support for the development and publication of economic analysis and statistical data for each of the freely associated states,” said Doug Domenech, Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs. “There is a critical lack of data across the FAS that this support seeks to remedy, while providing an important third-party, independent assessment of each country’s economic and policy environment.”

Each brief is prepared independently to provide a summary of economic activity, policy developments, as well as Compact Trust Fund status. The statistical data on which the publications are based is produced in close collaboration with in-country statistical offices. These datasets are officially adopted and published by each country, and help guide policy decisions and donor coordination through each fiscal year.

The publication of the FSM and RMI FY17 economic briefs was accompanied by presentations delivered at the annual meetings of the U.S.-FSM Joint Economic Management Committee (JEMCO) and the U.S.-RMI Joint Economic Management and Fiscal Accountability Committee (JEMFAC), held in Honolulu, Hawaii in late August 2018. Additional presentations were delivered to the FSM and RMI delegations as part of their internal preparatory processes for the JEMCO and JEMFAC meetings. Follow-up presentations will be offered to FSM, RMI, and Palau government leaders in each of the three countries in the coming months.

Copies of the FY 2017 reports and their accompanying presentations, as well as prior year reviews may be downloaded here:

Economic Reporting for the FSM
Economic Reporting for the RMI
Economic Reporting for Palau

Funding for the Graduate School USA and the EconMAP program is made available through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs’ Technical Assistance Program.

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for coordinating federal policy with respect to the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and administering and overseeing U.S. federal assistance provided under the Compact of Free Association to the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, executes these responsibilities, on behalf of the Secretary, through the Office of Insular Affairs whose mission is to foster economic opportunities, promote government efficiency, and improve the quality of life for the people of the insular areas.

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