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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for eligible citizens living in the country, reaching more than 40,000 people in its latest round. The program offers evidence about administering payments nationwide, but no published evaluation yet shows its effects on poverty, work or household finances—and it does not test how UBI would respond to AI-driven job losses.
The Marshall Islands has completed Enra’s first year, sending four quarterly payments to eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for the program’s second year. The rollout shows that a nationwide payment can reach tens of thousands of residents, but with no published evaluation of its effects, it cannot yet answer whether basic income protects households from the employment changes associated with artificial intelligence.
Enra, officially called the Individual Support Distribution, makes payments to Marshallese citizens who live in the country, including children. It has no means test or work requirement. Citizens living abroad are excluded. The payment comes from a fixed annual budget divided among people on the eligible list, so the amount per person can change as enrollment changes.
The first payment, in November 2025, was $201.92 for more than 33,000 people. As registrations grew, the March 2026 payment fell to about $160. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the later payments. The fourth payment, in August, was $215.85 to 40,714 people, according to the Marshall Islands Journal, citing the payment agency. President Hilda Heine said that represented more than 95% of the resident population.
For the second year, a trust fund committee approved $32.5 million on Sept. 2, and parliament passed a budget on Sept. 18 allocating that amount to Enra, alongside a separate $3.2 million Enra Top Up. The previous year’s budget line was $27.6 million. The program is financed through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than through a new tax dedicated to the payments.
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 Enra Can Show About Delivery
Enra’s first year matters because it takes basic income beyond the limited trials that typically involve a sample of people for a set period. The Marshall Islands has put recurring payments into national policy, and the latest reported round covered more than 40,000 recipients. That provides a real-world example of enrollment, payment schedules and delivery across a country with dispersed islands.
It also offers little direct evidence about the question driving interest in basic income in wealthier economies: how to support people if AI changes or eliminates jobs. Enra was not described as a response to AI-driven displacement, and its first-year record does not establish effects on employment, earnings, poverty or prices. For readers weighing proposals tied to automation, the distinction is important: a functioning payment system is not proof of a particular economic outcome.
The program’s changing payment size also illustrates a practical design issue. With a fixed pot shared among a growing list, an increase in enrollment can reduce each person’s share unless additional funding is provided. Enra’s experience may inform discussion about reach and financing, but its small-country setting and trust-fund funding model differ from those of larger economies.
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How Enra’s First Year Unfolded
The first payment went out on Nov. 26, 2025. Enrollment expanded from 33,119 people recorded by Sept. 30, 2025, to more than 37,000 by the second payment and more than 41,000 later in the year. The second payment was delayed from late February until the end of March while the government reviewed new registrations and residency. The finance minister said officials checked departures and removed people who had been away for more than three months, with exceptions including students, diplomats and patients receiving treatment abroad.
Payments can be made by check, direct deposit or Lomalo, a phone wallet. The wallet can deliver USDM1, a digital token issued in connection with the program. International coverage has sometimes described it as a stablecoin, but the Ministry of Finance rejects that description, saying USDM1 is a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasuries and is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. Published figures on how many recipients use Lomalo were not provided in the source material.
The government describes Enra as the world’s first country-wide, long-term universal basic income program. That is an official claim, not an independently established conclusion. The program differs from time-limited trials that enroll only a portion of a population; Alaska’s annual dividend is another distinct model. The International Monetary Fund estimated Enra’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and urged the government to replace it with a targeted scheme at the first feasible opportunity.
What The First-Year Data Cannot Answer
No evaluation of Enra’s effects has been published, according to the source material. The number of recipients and payment amounts establish that the program operated at scale, but they do not show how households used the money or whether it changed poverty, food security, employment, wages or other outcomes. The first year also cannot establish whether the payments would remain affordable if the trust fund’s resources or investment returns changed.
It is also unclear how many recipients use the Lomalo wallet rather than checks or bank deposits, and how the payment’s practical reach compares across the country’s islands. The latest payment agency figure counts recipients, while the president’s statement that Enra covered more than 95% of residents is a separate government claim. Neither measure on its own establishes the program’s social or economic impact.
For AI policy, a further limit is that Enra was not presented as an experiment in responding to automation. The source provides no evidence connecting its rollout to AI-related job losses or changes in work. Any claim that it proves UBI would cushion such disruption would go beyond the available findings.
Funding And Evaluation In Year Two
The immediate next step is the program’s second year, funded through the approved $32.5 million allocation and the additional $3.2 million top-up. Future payment amounts will depend in part on the eligible population, the available budget and whether additional support is provided. The source material does not specify a timetable for the next payment or for a formal evaluation.
For a clearer assessment, readers will need published results on household outcomes, enrollment and delivery, alongside transparent reporting on costs and funding. Until those are available, Enra offers a case study in operating broad quarterly payments—not a settled answer about basic income’s long-term effects or how governments should respond if AI reshapes employment.
Key Questions
Who qualifies for Enra payments?
Marshallese citizens living in the Marshall Islands qualify, including children. Citizens who live abroad are not eligible, according to the program description.
How much did recipients receive in the first year?
The amount changed by quarter. The first payment was $201.92, the March payment was about $160, and the August 2026 payment was $215.85. The final round paid 40,714 people, according to the payment agency as reported by the Marshall Islands Journal.
Has Enra shown that basic income reduces poverty or supports employment?
No published evaluation establishes those effects. The first-year figures document payments and reach, not their impact on poverty, work or household finances.
Does Enra show how UBI could respond to AI job losses?
Not directly. Enra was not described as an AI-related employment response, and the available information does not measure its effect on jobs or on workers displaced by automation.
How is the program funded?
Enra is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The program’s second-year budget includes $32.5 million for Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
