<P> Kiribati has few natural resources . Commercially viable phosphate deposits on Banaba were exhausted at the time of independence . Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports . Kiribati is considered one of the least developed countries in the world . </P> <P> In one form or another, Kiribati gets a large portion of its income from abroad . Examples include fishing licenses, development assistance, worker remittances, and tourism . Given Kiribati's limited domestic production ability, it must import nearly all of its essential foodstuffs and manufactured items; it depends on these external sources of income for financing . </P> <P> The economy of Kiribati benefits from international development assistance programs . The multilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were the European Union (A $9 million), the United Nations Development Programme (A $3.7 million), UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation (A $100,000). The bilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were Australia (A $11 million), Japan (A $2 million), New Zealand (A $6.6 million), Taiwan (A $10.6 million), and other donors providing A $16.2 million, including technical assistance grants from the Asian Development Bank . </P> <P> The major donors in 2010 / 2011 were Australia (A $15 million), Taiwan (A $11 million); New Zealand (A $6 million), the World Bank (A $4 million) and the Asian Development Bank . </P>

The only continent that is spread over all four hemispheres north south west and east