Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati
KIRIBATI
C.
10.
Taking Stock of Recent Structural Reforms in Kiribati
Given the importance of structural reforms, the government has undertaken various
attempts to revamp the economy through development plans. The Kiribati 20-year vision
2016-2036 outlines the government's ambition of turning the country into "a wealthy, healthy, and
peaceful nation" by focusing on 4 pillars: (i) wealth, including natural capital, human capital, and
cultural capital; (ii) peace and security; (iii) infrastructure for development; and (iv) governance. The
20-year vision has then been translated into detailed 4-year plans, with the latest one being the
Kiribati Development Plan 2020-2023 (Table 1). Under the plan, 6 areas are prioritized and
customized into concrete targets with specific numbers. It covers many areas of structural reforms,
including education, labor training, health, infrastructure as well as governance, living environment
and economic diversification through fisheries and tourism. The plan serves as a useful guidance as
Kiribati moves forward with major structural reforms to boost growth.
Table 1. Kiribati: Development Plan, 2020-2023
A Wealthy, Healthy and Peaceful Nation
6 Key Priority Areas
Harnessing human
capital
Improving health
Developing economic
wealth and poverty
reduction
Protecting environment Developing infrastructure
and strengthening
resilience
Good governance
Increasing access to
education and its quality
Improving health through
safe drinking water and
basic sanitation
Strengthening TVET to
boost labor mobility
Upgrading skills for
Upgrading health care
system to addressing
national common
diseases and child
mortality
government servants
Area-specific Actions
Diversifying the economy Protecting environment
through fisheries and
tourism
through waste
management, population
control, and biodiversity
conservation
Investing and upgrading Transforming legal
roads, runways, buildings sectors and institutions
and coastal infrastructure for a corruption-free
society
Fostering private sector Improving food security
and land scarcity
Developing sea and air
transportation
Strengthening
government revenue
Transforming digital
connectivity
Promoting trade and FDI
Enhancing renewable
energy supply
Empowering public
sector with better
accountability and
transparency
Improving service
delivery
Released in December 2021.
11.
One of the main areas of government's attention is human capital development,
through education, vocational training, labor mobility, and health.
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Education has improved significantly following the passage of the Education Act in 2013 and the
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Act in 2017. In 2015, the Employment and Industrial
Relations Code was amended to increase the minimum working age and require child employees to
be registered to address the issue of high drop-off rate in the secondary education. In 2019,
73 percent of eligible children were enrolled in early care and education, far above the target of
50 percent; while 96 percent of eligible children attended and 94.1 percent completed primary
school (Figure 3, upper left panel). Further attention should now be paid to increase the attainments
in the secondary (especially upper secondary) education.
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