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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed its first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for resident citizens, and approved $32.5 million for the program’s second year, alongside a $3.2 million top-up. The payments reached more than 40,000 people, but no published evaluation shows how they changed household finances, work or other outcomes.
The Marshall Islands has completed the first year of Enra, its quarterly payment to resident citizens, and approved $32.5 million for year two, plus a $3.2 million top-up. The rollout shows that payments reached more than 40,000 people, but no published evaluation yet establishes what the money changed—a central limitation for countries asking whether basic income can help prepare for disruption from artificial intelligence.
Enra, formally the Individual Support Distribution, pays eligible Marshallese citizens who live in the country, including children. It has no income test or work requirement. The government divides a fixed annual budget among those eligible and issues payments quarterly by check, bank deposit or the Lomalo phone wallet. Citizens living abroad do not qualify.
The first payment was made on November 26, 2025. Four quarterly payments followed through August 2026. The Marshall Islands Social Security Administration told the Marshall Islands Journal that the final payment was $215.85 per person to 40,714 people. President Hilda Heine said that recipient count represented more than 95% of the resident population. The source estimates that a resident received roughly $780 across the first year; individual quarterly amounts varied.
The payment was not a fixed amount. Enra draws from a set budget, so the per-person share fell as more people registered: the March 2026 payment was about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped lift later payments to around $200; the August installment was higher. On September 2, a trust fund committee approved $32.5 million for year two, and parliament passed a budget on September 18 containing that allocation and a separate $3.2 million top-up. The previous year’s budget line was $27.6 million.
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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What One National Year Can Show
Enra offers a rare real-world view of how a basic-income-style payment can be administered across an entire country rather than in a short trial covering a selected group. Its first year provides evidence about reach and delivery: the system made four rounds of payments, and the last reached more than 40,000 recipients, according to the reported figures.
That is not the same as evidence about outcomes. The source says no evaluation has been published, so it remains unknown whether Enra reduced hardship, changed work or education choices, improved health, or affected prices. The program’s experience cannot establish how a payment would work in a wealthier country or during AI-related job losses; those settings differ in funding, labor markets, costs and eligibility.
Funding also matters to the comparison. Enra is financed through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than a new tax collected to pay for the program. The source reports the fund was worth about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. A program funded by investment assets and a finite annual allocation raises different questions from a permanent income guarantee funded through recurring revenue.
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How Enra’s Payments Are Funded
Enra’s official name is the Individual Support Distribution. The Ministry of Finance describes it as “the world’s first country-wide, long-term universal basic income program.” That wording is the government’s characterization; the source argues that well-known alternatives differ in scope or duration, but the “first” claim should not be treated as independently established here.
The government uses checks, bank deposits and Lomalo to reach recipients across the Pacific nation. The digital wallet drew attention because it can deliver a token called USDM1 on a public blockchain. The finance ministry says USDM1 is a US-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. The number of Enra recipients using the wallet has not been published.
Eligibility and registration shaped the payment schedule. As the list grew, officials sought to review new registrations and verify residence. The source says the immigration office checks departures and that citizens absent for more than three months are removed, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent overseas for medical treatment. This process delayed the second payment from late February until the end of March 2026.
The International Monetary Fund has questioned the program’s cost. It estimated Enra at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and called for the government to replace it with a targeted scheme at the first feasible opportunity. That is the IMF’s policy position, not evidence that Enra has failed; the source provides no published outcome evaluation to settle that debate.
Outcomes Still Lack Published Evidence
The clearest gap is whether payments produced measurable changes in recipients’ lives. No evaluation of Enra has been published in the source material, and the recipient count alone cannot answer questions about poverty, household spending, employment or health. The amount people actually received over the year also varied as registrations and supplemental funding changed.
Some operational details remain unavailable. The number of recipients who use Lomalo has not been reported, and the source does not provide a full account of how many eligible people were not paid or why. Nor does it identify a completed independent assessment, its methods or a date for publication. Claims about what Enra implies for AI-driven employment changes would go beyond the evidence described so far.
Watch the Second-Year Evidence
The immediate next step is delivery of the second-year allocation approved in September 2026. Future payment amounts will depend on the program’s budget and the number of eligible recipients; the source does not give a confirmed schedule or per-person figure for the next installments.
For a clearer assessment, readers will need published information on payment coverage, spending and household outcomes, as well as details of any evaluation. The IMF’s call for a targeted replacement also leaves a policy debate unresolved: whether the government will maintain Enra, change its design or adopt another approach. Until those decisions and results are reported, the first year is evidence of a nationwide payment system in operation—not proof of its broader economic effects.
Key Questions
Who is eligible for Enra?
Marshallese citizens who live in the Marshall Islands are eligible, including children. Citizens living abroad are excluded, subject to the residence rules and exceptions described by the government.
How much did recipients receive in the first year?
The amount changed by quarter because Enra divides a fixed budget among eligible people. The final payment was $215.85 per person; the source estimates roughly $780 across the first year, rather than a fixed annual entitlement.
How is Enra funded?
The program is funded from a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, with additional support including a $3.2 million World Bank grant in year one. It is not described in the source as funded by a new tax.
Has Enra been shown to reduce poverty or change employment?
No published evaluation is identified in the source material. The first-year payment figures show reach and delivery, but do not establish effects on poverty, work, health or other outcomes.
Not by itself. Enra may offer useful information about administering payments nationwide, but its funding model, eligibility rules and local economy differ from those of other countries. The source reports no outcome evidence that would establish effects during AI-related job disruption.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
