| 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. |
| Location: |
Oceania, group of
islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, 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 |
| Area: |
total:
717 sq km
land: 717 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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:
0%
permanent crops: 51%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 46% (1993 est.) |
| 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
20 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 |
| Population: |
94,149 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
40.53% (male 19,322; female 18,833)
15-64 years: 56.27% (male 26,136; female
26,841)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,291; female
1,726) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.31% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
31.98
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.88 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
54 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 60.16 years
male: 57.25 years
female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
4.36 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
| Ethnic
groups: |
predominantly
Micronesian with some Polynesian |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic
54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day
Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God
(1996) |
| Languages: |
English
(official), I-Kiribati |
| Literacy: |
definition:
NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA% |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati
note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss
former: Gilbert Islands |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| 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 |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October
1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October
1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Teburoro TITO
(since 1 October 1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA
(since 12 October 1994); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
from among the members of the House of Assembly, includes
the president, vice president, attorney general, and up to
eight other ministers
elections: the House of Assembly chooses the
presidential candidates from among their members and then
those candidates compete in a general election; president is
elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last
held 27 November 1998 (next to be held by NA November 2002);
vice president appointed by the president
election results: Teburoro TITO reelected
president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 52.3%, Dr. Harry
TONG 45.8%, Amberoti NIKORA 1.9%, Taberannang TIMEON 0% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral House
of Assembly or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (41 seats; 39 elected
by popular vote, one ex officio member, and one nominated to
represent Banaba; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 1998 (next to
be held by NA September 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - Maneaban Te Mauri Party 14, National
Progressive Party 11, independents 14 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Appeal;
High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are
appointed by the president |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Maneaban Te Mauri
Party [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party [Teatao
TEANNAKI]
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,
ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC,
SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
| 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 the Marshall
Islands 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
- overview: |
A remote country
of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national
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, largely from the UK and
Japan, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of
GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account
for more than $5 million each year. Performance in 2000 fell
short of the 2.5% growth in 1999, which benefited from
increased copra production and exceptionally large revenues
from fishing licenses. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly
equal amount from external sources |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
1% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
14%
industry: 7%
services: 79% (1996 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2% (1999 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
7,870
economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
2%;
underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$33.3 million
expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
| Industries: |
fishing,
handicrafts |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
0.7% (1992 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
7 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
6.5 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
copra, taro,
breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
| Exports: |
$6 million
(f.o.b., 1998) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
copra 62%,
coconuts, seaweed, fish |
| Exports
- partners: |
Bangladesh,
Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) |
| Imports: |
$44 million
(c.i.f., 1999) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods,
fuel |
| Imports
- partners: |
Australia, Fiji,
Japan, NZ, China (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$10 million (1999
est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$15.5 million
(1995), largely from UK and Japan |
| Currency: |
Australian dollar
(AUD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Australian
dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173
(2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773
(1996) |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
2,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific
Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should
improve telephone service |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 1,
shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
1,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ki |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
670 km (1996)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km |
| Waterways: |
5 km (small
network of canals in Line Islands) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Banaba, Betio,
English Harbor, Kanton |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
17
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| 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 |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
