The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.

Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line

1 25 N, 173 00 E

Oceania

total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands

four times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

1,143 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m

phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)

arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95%
other: 49.31% (2005)

NA

typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level

heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru

105,432 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 38.6% (male 20,608/female 20,060)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 30,216/female 31,004)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,517/female 2,027) (2006 est.)

total: 20.2 years
male: 19.8 years
female: 20.8 years (2006 est.)

2.24% (2006 est.)

30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 47.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 41.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 62.08 years
male: 59.06 years
female: 65.24 years (2006 est.)

4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.)

NA

NA

NA

noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati

Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)

Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999)

I-Kiribati, English (official)

definition: NA
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA

conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati
note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss
former: Gilbert Islands

republic

Tarawa

3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)

12 July 1979 (from UK)

Independence Day, 12 July (1979)

12 July 1979

NA

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament
elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president
election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1%

unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 appointed to represent Banaba, and 1 other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 (next to be held by November 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general)

Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president

Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures

NA

ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu

the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati

the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals about 20% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund.

$79 million
note: supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.)

NA

1.5% (2001 est.)

$800 (2001 est.)

agriculture: 30%
industry: 7%
services: 63% (1998 est.)

7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)

2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

2.5% (2001 est.)

revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish

fishing, handicrafts

0.7% (1991 est.)

12 million kWh (2003)

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

11.16 million kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

200 bbl/day (2003 est.)

NA bbl/day

NA bbl/day

0 cu m (2003 est.)

0 cu m (2003 est.)

$17 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish

France 45.7%, Japan 29.2%, US 9.1%, Thailand 5.4% (2004)

$62 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel

Australia 33.6%, Fiji 29.8%, Japan 10.3%, NZ 6.9%, France 4.1% (2004)

$10 million (1999 est.)

$15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.)

Australian dollar (AUD)

AUD

Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)

NA

4,500 (2002)

500 (2003)

general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999
international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002)

17,000 (1997)

1 (not reported to be active) (2002)

1,000 (1997)

.ki

36 (2005)

1 (2000)

2,000 (2004)

19 (2005)

total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2005)

total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 4 (2005)

total: 670 km (1999)

5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003)

total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,749 GRT/3,911 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1
foreign-owned: 1 (Syria 1) (2005)

Betio

no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands)

males age 18-49: 21,938 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 14,231 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 1,128 (2005 est.)

NA

NA

Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ

none