KIR · snapshot 2026-08-09
Kiribati
MediumOverall risk score
32.9
Percentile of scored universe
26th
Data coverage
70%
vs Australia (16.1)
+16.8
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Medium6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Medium6 indicators · 85% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Low4 indicators · 68% coverage
Business Environment
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Security & Crime
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Climate & Social Compliance
High2 indicators · 65% coverage
Technology & Digital
High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Insufficient dataInsufficient data · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Kiribati rates Medium for market entry — an overall risk score of 32.9, less risky than 74% of rated economies and 17 points riskier than Australia.
The main risk drivers are thin secure internet infrastructure, a low income level with limited crisis-absorption capacity, external imbalance (current account -12.2% of GDP, 3-yr average), high physical climate vulnerability and weak digital government.
Relative strengths: organised crime pervasiveness and political stability & absence of violence/terrorism both sit in the least-risky quarter of rated economies, and currency stability rates Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Disaster resilience. High natural-hazard exposure: build business-continuity plans, check insurance availability (including parametric covers), and avoid single-point supply dependencies.
- Connectivity constraints. Thin digital infrastructure: plan for offline-capable operations, local hosting or caching, and paper-tolerant processes with government counterparts.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 73.9 | 17.8 | Low | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 42.9 | 67.1 | High | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 47.0 | 66.1 | High | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 70.5 | 23.9 | Low | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 55.4 | 35.5 | Medium | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 87.0 | 8.5 | Low | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 4.0% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±2.6 pp | 29.6 | Medium | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 8.0 | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | 2.5 | 35.0 | Medium | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | -12.2% (3-yr avg) | 85.0 | Very High | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $3,937 | 88.7 | Very High | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 0.70 | 20.0 | Low | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | No independent currency (USD/EUR/AUD in use) | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | In force | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | In force | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.0 | 29.7 | Medium | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 7.1 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 2.3 | 3.1 | Low | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.528 | 80.3 | Very High | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 3.6 | 52.4 | High | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.5 | 75.9 | Very High | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 89.4 | 33.1 | Medium | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.0 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 22.3 | 90.5 | Very High | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
—
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates.
Trade agreement
Free trade agreement with Australia in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Kiribati in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.