Kiribati

Find a country's flag, map or national anthem here. Click on a letter to find the country:

Kiribati

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Ribaberikan Kiribati/Republic of Kiribati Area 717 sq km/277 sq mi Capital Bairiki (on Tarawa atoll) Language English (official), Gilbertese Religion Roman Catholic, Protestant (Congregationalist) Time difference GMT +12, except Canton and Enderby Islands: GMT -11; Christmas Island: GMT -10 Major holidays 1 January, 12 June (3 days), 25–26 December; variable: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Holy Saturday, Youth (August)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities principal islands are the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, the Line Islands, Banaba Major ports Bairiki, Betio (on Tarawa) Physical features comprises 33 Pacific coral islands: the Kiribati (Gilbert), Rawaki (Phoenix), Banaba (Ocean Island), and three of the Line Islands including Kiritimati (Christmas Island); island groups crossed by Equator and International Date Line Airports five international airports and 17 other airports; total passengers carried: 28,000 (1998) Railways none Roads total road network: about 670 km/416 mi, of which about 483 km/300 mi is suitable for vehicles (1996)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state and government Anote Tong from 2003 Political system liberal democracy Political executive limited presidency Administrative divisions three units (island groups) and six districts Political parties Maneaban Te Mauri (MTM), dominant faction; National Progressive Party (NPP), former governing faction 1979–94 Death penalty abolished in 1979 Armed forces no standing army Education spend (% GDP) 9.6 (2000 est) Health spend (% GDP) 12.1 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Australian dollar GDP (US$) 76 million (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 0.8 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 137 million (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 880 (2003 est) Consumer price inflation 1.6% (2006 est) Unemployment 1.6% (2001) Labour force 26% agriculture, 25% industry, 49% services (2003 est) Foreign debt (US$) 30 million (2005 est) Major trading partners Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, Fiji Islands, USA, Marshall Islands, Denmark Resources phosphate, salt Industries handicrafts, coconut-based products, soap, foods, furniture, leather goods, garments, tourism Exports copra, fish, seaweed, bananas, breadfruit, taro. Principal market: Japan 59.7% (2003) Imports foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, mineral fuels, basic manufactures. Principal source: Australia 39.8% (2003) Arable land 2.7% (2006 est) Agricultural products copra, coconuts, bananas, vegetables, melons, screw-pine, papaya, breadfruit; livestock rearing (pigs and chickens); fishing and seaweed cultivation


POPULATION

Population 105,400 (2006 est) Population growth rate 2.2% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 128 (2005 est) Urban population (% of total) 50 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 41%, 15–59 53%, 60+ 6% (2001 est) Ethnic groups predominantly Micronesian, with a Polynesian minority; also European and Chinese minorities Life expectancy 58 (men); 63 (women) (2001 est) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 65 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 10 Literacy rate 93% (men); 92% (women) (2001 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 3 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 4.3 (2002 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 77 (urban); 53 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 5.1 (2004 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 0.7 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 341 (1999 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 44 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 1.2 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 2.4 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

1st millennium BC Settled by Austronesian-speaking peoples. 1606 Visited by Spanish explorers. late 18th century Visited by British naval officers. 1857 Christian mission established. 1892 Gilbert (Kiribati) and Ellice (Tuvalu) Islands proclaimed a British protectorate. 1916–39 Uninhabited Phoenix Islands, Christmas Island, Ocean Island, and Line Island (Banaba) added to colony. 1942–43 While occupied by Japanese it was the scene of fierce fighting with US troops. late 1950s UK tested nuclear weapons on Christmas Island (Kiritimati). 1963 Legislative council established. 1974 Legislative council replaced by an elected House of Assembly. 1975 Mainly Melanesian-populated Ellice Islands separated to become Tuvalu. 1977 Predominantly Micronesian-populated Gilbert Islands granted internal self-government. 1979 Gilbert Islands achieved independence within the Commonwealth, as the Republic of Kiribati, with Ieremia Tabai as president. 1985 Kiribati's first political party, opposition Christian Democrats, formed. 1994 Government resigned after losing vote of confidence. Teburoro Tito of Maneaban Te Mauri (MTM) elected president. 1995 Diplomatic ties with France suspended following French decision to resume nuclear tests on Mururoa Atoll in French Polynesia. 1999 To promote tourism, Caroline Island renamed Millennium Island. Government drew attention to effects of global warming; two uninhabited coral reefs were submerged by rising sea levels. Kiribati admitted to United Nations. 2002 Together with Tuvalu and the Maldives, Kiribati announced decision to take legal action against USA for refusing to sign Kyoto Protocol. 2003 President Tito ousted in vote of no confidence; replaced by Anote Tong. Kiribati established diplomatic ties with Taiwan; China severed diplomatic relations. 2006 Kiribati created world's third-largest marine reserve. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area became a conservation area housing hundreds of fish and coral species. 2007 General elections held in late August. President Anote Tong poised for another term in office after retaining his seat.


© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.