GDP is derived mainly from payments made by the United States under the terms of the amended Compact of Free Association.

[2] Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, Marshallese citizens can travel and work in the United States without visas, which has contributed to more than a 22% population decline over the period 2000–2021.

The modern sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants; banking and insurance; offshore companies registration; construction, repair, and professional services; and copra processing.

Copra production, the most important single commercial activity for the past 100 years, now depends on government subsidies.

The subsidies, more a social policy than an economic strategy, help reduce migration from outer atolls to densely populated Majuro and Ebeye.

[5][6] The SOV plan prompted a vote of no confidence in President Hilda Heine, who was in favour of the scheme, in November 2018,[7] which failed when parliament deadlocked on the question.

[8] The SOV is intended to serve as a second legal tender for the Marshall Islands, alongside the U.S. dollar; however, the International Monetary Fund has stated that it does not meet the definition of a central bank digital currency.

[9] The IMF also raised concerns about macroeconomic and financial integrity risks associated with the digital currency.

[10] Despite the objections of the IMF, the U.S. Treasury Department, and banks, the Marshallese government has continued to work toward the development of the SOV.

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22% industry: 18% services: 60% (2008) The islands have few natural resources, and their imports far exceed exports.

Agricultural products include coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits, pigs and chickens.