| The first settlers of Kiribati
probably came from Southeast Asia and Samoa
in the 14th and 15th centuries. Nearly all the inhabitants are descended
from the original settlers, and most live on the Gilbert
Islands. The islands
of Kiribati include Banaba,
or Ocean Island; the 16 Gilbert Islands, including
Tarawa;
the 8 Phoenix
Islands; and 8 of the
Line
Islands, which include
Kiritimati
or Christmas Island, the nation’s largest.
The native people of
Kirbati are known as I-Kirbati. The indigenous
people of Banaba speak a Gilbertese dialect and share a similar culture
with the I-Kiribati, but consider themselves to be politically separate
from the I-Kiribati. A small number of Tuvaluans also live in Kiribati.
One-third of the population lives on Tarawa, the main island. Language |
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| I-Kiribati speak a
Micronesian dialect
called Gilbertese, or I-Kiribati. The word “Kiribati” is the local
spelling of “Gilberts”, the original name for the islands.
Kirbati was a British colony until 1979 and English is the official
language, although it is rarely heard outside of urban
South Tarawa. In many parts of Kiribati those who speak English in public
are likely to find themselves mocked for showing off. On
South Tarawa, people mix English and Gilbertese, using English mostly for
words that do not exist in Gilbertese. Older people speak a more
complicated and extensive version of Gilbertese than that spoken by the
younger generation. There are slight local variations in accents.
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The American Hiram Bingham Jr established a
mission on Abaiang
(formerly Charlotte Island, a coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands) in 1857.
He devised a written form of Gilbertese, based on the Latin alphabet, that
is still in use. The Gilbertese alphabet has 13 letters. Some words are
borrowed from English (and adapted to the Gilbertese alphabet and
pronunciation) because they were not indigenous to Kiribati, for example te
ka, which means “the car”.
Religion |
| Christianity
was first introduced in the 1850s by American Protestant missionaries.
Today about 52 per cent of the people of Kiribati are Catholic, and 40 per
cent are Congregational Protestant. Catholicism is more prominent in the
north. It was introduced in 1880 by two I-Kirbati who had become Catholic
whilst working in
Tahiti.
Other Christian faiths with a strong presence include Seventh-Day
Adventist, the Church of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints (Mormons). The Baha’i faith also has followers in Kiribati.
Before Christianity, te maka (“the
power” or “the magic”) was the prevalent belief system. It included
the worship of Nareau (the Creator), the use of charms and spells, and a
belief in spirits and ghosts. While no longer practised on a large scale,
it is still followed by some families.
Factsheet |
- Population:
83,976 (July 1998 est.)
- Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
- Population growth rate: 1.82% (1998
est.)
- Birth rate: 26.46 births/1,000
population (1998 est.)
- Death rate: 7.62 deaths/1,000
population (1998 est.)
- Net migration rate: -0.66
migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
- Infant mortality rate: 49.69
deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.61 years
male: 60.79 years
female: 64.68 years (1998 est.)
- Total fertility rate: 3.13 children
born/woman (1998 est.)
- Nationality:
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati
- Ethnic groups: Micronesian
- Religions: Roman Catholic 53%,
Protestant (Congregational) 41%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Church
of God, Mormon 6% (1985 est.)
- Languages: English (official),
Gilbertese
- Literacy: NA
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