Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
Country Profile

The island nation of Kiribati consists of 33 low-lying coral reefs and atolls, about 20 Approximate of which are permanently inhabited. Its total land area measures around 811 square kilometres (around 313 square miles). Islanders, called I-Kiribati, are predominantly of Micronesian origin. Tourists seek out Kiribati for its “unspoiled” charm, seemingly endless reefs, flats, and lagoons, and for the opportunity to view seabirds and marine life in a lush, tropical setting.

Government

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The Republic of Kiribati has a beretitenti (president) as its head of state and government, who is directly elected from the few candidates who are nominated by the 40-member Maneaba ni Maungatabu (House of Assembly). The president is assisted by a vice-president and cabinet, appointed from among the members of the assembly, who, except for one member, are all directly elected.
 All citizens may vote at the age of 18. Each inhabited island has a council, and the government is represented by an island clerk. Local authority is vested in the maneaba council of unimane (“old men”).

Economy
Most islanders make a living by fishing, growing their own food, and raising small livestock. Copra (dried coconut), used to make coconut-oil soap and cosmetics, is the main export. Revenues are also earned from tourism and from foreign companies which pay Kiribati for the right to fish its waters. Local industry is small in scale and includes handicrafts, fish salting, and boat-building. A cash economy has only recently emerged on the outer islands, but it prevails on South Tarawa. The Australian dollar is used as the country’s currency.

Transport and Communication
Buses are only available on South Tarawa. Outer-island travel is on foot, by canoe, bicycle, or motorbike. Inter-island air and boat services are irregular. There is an international airport in Tarawa. There are plans to build causeways between atolls where possible. Telephones are available on South Tarawa, but other areas depend on radio relays. There are no television stations, but one radio station broadcasts three times daily. A number of monthly newspapers are sponsored by churches, and a weekly newspaper (Te Uekera) is published by the government.

Education
Schooling is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14. Most children receive a primary education, but post-primary facilities are limited, and only about 15 per cent of students attend secondary school. A branch of the University of the South Pacific (based in Fiji) is located on South Tarawa, and some students also study in New Zealand and Australia. Bairiki has a technical-training institute, a teacher-training college, and a marine-training school.

Health and Welfare
The state provides free medical services. Each island has a clinic with at least one nurse and there is a hospital (Tungaru Central) on Tarawa. Doctors from Tarawa travel to outer islands to do dental or optometry work when necessary.

Geographic Facts:
  • 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 unilaterally moved the International Date Line from the middle of the country to include its easternmost islands and make it the same day throughout the country
  • Geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E
  • Map references: Oceania
  • 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
  • Land boundaries: 0 km
  • Coastline: 1,143 km
  • 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: NA%
    permanent crops: 51%
    permanent pastures: NA%
    forests and woodland: 3%
    other: 46% (1993 est.)
  • Irrigated land: NA sq km
  • Natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes
  • 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, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
    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

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