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Travel to Kiribati — Unbiased reviews and great deals
from TripAdvisorKiribati
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Republic of Kiribati
President: Anote Tong (2003)
Current government officials
Total area: 313 sq mi (811 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 110,252 (growth
rate: 2.2%); birth rate: 30.3/1000; infant mortality rate:
44.7/1000; life expectancy: 62.8; density per sq km: 135
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Tarawa, 26,600
Monetary unit: Australian dollar
Languages:
English (official), I-Kiribati
(Gilbertese)
Ethnicity/race:
Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant
(Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i,
Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999)
National Holiday:
Independence Day, July 12
Literacy rate: n.a.
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $348 million; per capita $3,600. Real growth rate: 2%.
Inflation: 0.2%. Unemployment: 2%; under-employment
70% (1992 est.). Arable land: 3%. Agriculture: copra,
taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish. Labor force:
7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers
(2001 est.). Industries: fishing, handicrafts. Natural
resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979).
Exports: $17 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): copra 62%, coconuts,
seaweed, fish. Imports: $62 million c.i.f. (2004):
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured
goods, fuel. Major trading partners: France, Japan, U.S.,
Thailand, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand (2004).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 4,500 (2002); mobile cellular: 600 (2004) Radio broadcast
stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1; note: the FM and shortwave
stations may be inactive (2002). Radios: 17,000 (1997).
Television broadcast stations: 1 (not reported to be active)
(2002). Televisions: 1,000 (1997). Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): 41 (2007). Internet users: 2,000
(2006).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km.
Highways: total: 670 km (1999 est.); paved: n.a.; unpaved:
n.a. Waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in
Line Islands. Ports and harbors: Banaba, Betio, English
Harbor, Kanton. Airports: 19 (2007).
International disputes: none.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, consists
of three widely separated main groups of southwest Pacific islands: the
Gilberts on the equator, the Phoenix Islands to the east, and the Line
Islands farther east. Ocean Island, producer of phosphates until it was
mined out in 1981, is also included in the 2 million square miles of
ocean. Most of the islands of Kiribati are low-lying coral atolls built on
a submerged volcanic chain and encircled by reefs.
Government
Republic.
History
Kiribati was first settled by early
Austronesian-speaking peoples long before the 1st century A.D. Fijians and Tongans arrived about the 14th
century and subsequently merged with the older groups to form the
traditional I-Kiribati Micronesian society and culture. The islands were
first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early
19th centuries, and the first British settlers arrived in 1837. A British
protectorate since 1892, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown
colony in 1915–1916. Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll became a part of
the colony in 1919; the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937.
Tarawa and others of the Gilbert group were
occupied by Japan during World War II. Tarawa was the site of one of the
bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history when marines landed in Nov.
1943 to dislodge the Japanese defenders. The Gilbert Islands and Ellice
Islands (now Tuvalu) were separated in 1975 and granted internal
self-government by Britain. Kiribati became independent on July 12,
1979.
Kiribati's 1995 act of moving the international
date line far to the east, so that it encompassed Kiribati's Line Islands
group, courted controversy. The move, which fulfilled one of President
Tito's campaign promises, was intended to enable Kiribati to become the
first country to see the dawn on Jan. 1, 2000, and welcome the new
millennium—an event of significance for tourism. In 1999, Kiribati
gained UN membership.
In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law
enabling it to shut down newspapers. The legislation followed the
launching of Kiribati's first successful nongovernment-run newspaper.
Anote Tong of the opposition party, Boutokaan Te Koaua, was elected
president in 2003. He was reelected in 2007, taking 65% of the vote to
Nabuti Mwemwenikarawa's 33%.
See also Encyclopedia: Kiribati.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Kiribati
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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