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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for its second year. The program reached 40,714 people in its August 2026 payment, but no published evaluation shows how it affected households or the wider economy.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, its quarterly payment program for eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for the second year. The final first-year payment, made in August 2026, was $215.85 per person for 40,714 people, according to the Marshall Islands Journal; the program has no published evaluation yet to show what the payments changed.
Enra, formally called the Individual Support Distribution, began paying out on November 26, 2025. Four payments were made between November 2025 and August 2026. The payment amount is not fixed: the government shares a set annual pot among eligible recipients, so the amount per person can change as enrollment changes or additional funding is added.
The first payment was $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. By the second round, enrollment had risen above 37,000, and each share fell to about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments to around $200; the August payment came to $215.85. The program’s payment agency reported 40,714 recipients for that round. President Hilda Heine has said the program covers more than 95% of the resident population.
On September 2, the trust fund committee approved $32.5 million for year two. Parliament’s September 18 budget included that amount for Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up. The previous year’s budget line was $27.6 million. The stated funding source is the trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than a new tax. It was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026.
Infographic 01 · Enra, the first year
Four payments, one fixed pot
How the Marshall Islands paid a basic income to almost every resident citizen between November 2025 and August 2026.
- Nov 2025First payment: $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. MISSA had enrolled 33,119 by 30 Sep 2025.Launch ceremony in Majuro, 26 Nov
- End Mar 2026About $160. Delayed a month to vet new registrations and residence. More than 37,000 registered, same fixed budget.Citizens away more than 3 months are removed from the list, with exceptions
- End May 2026About $200 again, thanks to a $3.2 million World Bank grant ($1.6 million per quarter). More than 41,000 on the eligible list.Pushed by the president over fuel and food prices
- Aug 2026$215.85 to 40,714 people. Fewer paper checks than in earlier rounds.MISSA administrator to the Marshall Islands Journal
Payment per person, year one
US dollars per quarter · March and May rounded as reported
Why the amount moves
- Enra is a fixed annual budget shared equally among everyone eligible that quarter.
- More registrations mean a smaller share unless the budget grows.
- Roughly $780 per person in year one, about 12% of GDP per person (IMF: $6,417, FY2023). My arithmetic.
Sources: Marshall Islands Journal (27 Nov 2025, 26 Feb, 22 May, 6 Aug, 27 Aug 2026) · IMF, 10 Sep 2025. March and May amounts as reported (“about”).
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A Nationwide Payment, Not an Outcome Study
Enra is a rare case of a basic-income-style payment delivered nationwide, rather than a time-limited trial covering a sample of residents. Its first year offers evidence about administration and reach: payments were made in four rounds, the recipient list grew, and the per-person amount shifted when the eligible population and available funding changed.
Those facts do not establish whether the program reduced poverty, improved health or education, changed employment, or affected prices. No published evaluation of Enra is cited in the source material. That gap matters for readers following proposals to use basic income to address possible job disruption from artificial intelligence: the Marshall Islands’ experience cannot yet show whether such payments would offset lost earnings, and its funding and economic circumstances differ from those of larger, wealthier countries.
The International Monetary Fund has raised a separate concern about affordability. It estimated Enra’s fiscal 2026 cost at 8.1% of GDP and urged the government to replace it “at the first feasible opportunity” with a targeted program. That is the IMF’s policy recommendation, not a finding that Enra has failed. The tension is between broad eligibility and a recurring public cost funded from a finite trust-fund structure.
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How Enra Reaches Residents
Eligibility is limited to Marshallese citizens living in the Marshall Islands, including children; citizens living abroad are excluded. The Social Security Administration maintains the eligibility list, while the Ministry of Finance oversees the funding. The government checks residency, and the finance minister has said people who remain abroad for more than three months are removed, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent overseas for medical care.
Recipients can be paid by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. The wallet has drawn attention because it can deliver USDM1, a digital asset on a public blockchain. The Ministry of Finance describes USDM1 as a U.S.-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasuries and says it is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. Some coverage calls it a stablecoin; that label is disputed by the ministry.
The payment options address practical access challenges across the Pacific island nation. Major bank branches are concentrated on Majuro and Ebeye, while checks sent to outer islands can take weeks. The ministry’s claim that Enra is the world’s first country-wide, long-term universal basic income program is a government characterization. The source describes other prominent examples as either annual dividends or limited trials, but the claim should not be treated as an independently established ranking.
What One Year Cannot Yet Show
No published impact evaluation is identified in the source material. It remains unclear how Enra affected household poverty, food security, health, education, work decisions, prices or migration. A year of payment records can show who received money and how much was distributed, but not by itself establish those wider effects.
The source does not report how many recipients use Lomalo rather than checks or bank deposits, nor does it provide a detailed accounting of the program’s administrative costs. The August figure is a count of people paid in that round; the reported estimate that this is more than 95% of residents is attributed to the president. It is also unclear how the program’s future funding will be managed if investment returns or other trust-fund resources change.
Second-Year Spending and Evaluation
The next confirmed development is the second year of payments funded through the September budget, including $32.5 million for Enra and a $3.2 million top-up. The source does not give dates or amounts for the next quarterly payments. Because Enra divides a fixed pot among eligible residents, those amounts may depend on enrollment and any additional funding.
For a clearer assessment of the program, the public will need evidence on household outcomes, delivery costs, eligibility changes and the trust fund’s capacity to support payments over time. No evaluation release or timetable is specified in the source material. The IMF’s call for a shift toward targeted support also leaves an unresolved policy debate over whether broad payments or more selective assistance should take priority.
Key Questions
What is Enra?
Enra is the Marshall Islands’ Individual Support Distribution, a quarterly payment for citizens living in the country, including children. It has no means test or work requirement, and the per-person payment varies with the size of the available fund and eligible list.
How much did people receive in the first year?
Payments varied. The first was $201.92 per person, the second fell to about $160 as enrollment grew, and the final August 2026 payment was $215.85. The source estimates a resident received roughly $780 across the four rounds, but individual totals may depend on eligibility and payment records.
Who is eligible for Enra?
Marshallese citizens who live in the Marshall Islands are eligible, including children. Citizens living abroad do not qualify. The Social Security Administration manages the recipient list, with residency checks reported by the finance minister.
Has Enra been shown to reduce poverty or improve employment?
No published evaluation is cited that establishes effects on poverty, employment, health, education or other outcomes. The first year confirms that payments were distributed at scale, not what changed as a result.
How is the program funded?
Enra is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. The IMF has questioned the program’s fiscal cost and recommended replacing it with targeted support.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
