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Introduction | Kiribati

Background: | 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.

Geography | Kiribati

Location:

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

Geographic coordinates: | 1 25 N, 173 00 E
Map references: | Oceania
Area: | total: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Area - comparative: | four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 1,143 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m
Natural resources: | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use: | arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005)
Irrigated land: | NA
Natural hazards: | 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
Environment - current issues: | 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
Environment - international agreements: | 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
Geography - note: | 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

People | Kiribati

Population: | 105,432 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 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.)
Median age: | total: 20.2 years male: 19.8 years female: 20.8 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.24% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | 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.)
Infant mortality rate: | 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.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 62.08 years male: 59.06 years female: 65.24 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Ethnic groups: | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)
Religions: | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999)
Languages: | I-Kiribati, English (official)
Literacy: | definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

Government | Kiribati

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Tarawa

Administrative divisions:

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)

Independence: | 12 July 1979 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Constitution: | 12 July 1979
Legal system: | NA
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

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%

Legislative branch:

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: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (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)
note: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003

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

Political parties and leaders:

Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; 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

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | 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
Diplomatic representation in the US: | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
Diplomatic representation from the US: | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
Flag description: | 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

Economy | Kiribati

Economy - overview:

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $79 million note: supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | NA
GDP - real growth rate: | 1.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $800 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 30% industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.)
Labor force: | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.5% (2001 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $28.4 million expenditures: $37.2 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Agriculture - products: | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish
Industries: | fishing, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: | 0.7% (1991 est.)
Electricity - production: | 12 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 11.16 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 200 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Exports: | $17 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish
Exports - partners: | France 45.7%, Japan 29.2%, US 9.1%, Thailand 5.4% (2004)
Imports: | $62 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
Imports - partners: | Australia 33.6%, Fiji 29.8%, Japan 10.3%, New Zealand 6.9%, France 4.1% (2004)
Debt - external: | $10 million (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.)
Currency (code): | Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code: | AUD
Exchange rates: | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)
Fiscal year: | NA

Communications | Kiribati

Telephones - main lines in use: | 4,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 500 (2003)

Telephone system:

general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati; 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)

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002)
Radios: | 17,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002)
Televisions: | 1,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .ki
Internet hosts: | 36 (2005)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000)
Internet users: | 2,000 (2004)

Transportation | Kiribati

Airports: | 19 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2005)
Roadways: | total: 670 km (1999)
Waterways: | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003)
Merchant marine: | 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)
Ports and terminals: | Betio

Military | Kiribati

Military branches: | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA
Military - note: | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ

Transnational Issues | Kiribati

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006