|
| World Fact Book
| Mark H. Solsman
| Documentation Training and Publications, Center for Academic Computing
| mhs108@psu.edu  10/19/93
I
 
_@_Kiribati Geography
 
Total area:
    717 km2
Land area:
    717 km2; includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands,
    Phoenix Islands
Comparative area:
    slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    1,143 km
Maritime claims:
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    none
Climate:
    tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain:
    mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Natural resources:
    phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use:
    arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 51%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and
    woodland 3%; other 46%
Environment:
    typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; 20 of the 33
    islands are inhabited
Note:
    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
 
:Kiribati People
 
Population:
    74,788 (July 1992), growth rate 2.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
    33 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    99 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    52 years male, 56 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    3.9 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - I-Kiribati (singular and plural); adjective - I-Kiribati
Ethnic divisions:
    Micronesian
Religions:
    Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational) 40.9%, Seventh-Day
    Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)
Languages:
    English (official), Gilbertese
Literacy:
    NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force:
    7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)
Organized labor:
    Kiribati Trades Union Congress - 2,500 members
 
:Kiribati Government
 
Long-form name:
    Republic of Kiribati; note - pronounced Kiribas
Type:
    republic
Capital:
    Tarawa
Administrative divisions:
    3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - a new
    administrative structure of 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line
    Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) may have been changed
    to 21 island councils (one for each of the inhabited islands) named Abaiang,
    Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Canton, Kiritimati,
    Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea,
    Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina
Independence:
    12 July 1979 (from UK; formerly Gilbert Islands)
Constitution:
    12 July 1979
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Executive branch:
    president (Beretitenti), vice president (Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti), Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu)
Judicial branch:
    Court of Appeal, High Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State and Head of Government:
    President Teatao TEANNAKI (since 8 July 1991); Vice President Taomati IUTA
    (since 8 July 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
    National Progressive Party, Teatao TEANNAKI; Christian Democratic Party,
    Teburoro TITO; New Movement Party, leader NA; Liberal Party, Tewareka
    TENTOA; 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
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  President:
    last held on 8 July 1991 (next to be held May 1995); results - Teatao
    TEANNAKI 52%, Roniti TEIWAKI 28%
  House of Assembly:
    last held on 8 May 1991 (next to be held May 1995); results - percent of
    vote by party NA; seats - (40 total; 39 elected) percent of seats by party
    NA
Member of:
    ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP (associate), IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL,
    ITU, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador (vacant) lives in Tarawa (Kiribati)
  US:
    the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
Flag:
    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
 
:Kiribati Economy
 
Overview:
    The country has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate
    deposits were exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish
    now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated
    widely in recent years. Real GDP declined about 8% in 1987, as the fish
    catch fell sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production
    was hampered by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real
    GDP growing by 17%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in
    copra production and a good fish catch. Following the strong surge in output
    in 1988, GNP increased 1% in both 1989 and 1990.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $36.8 million, per capita $525; real growth rate
    1.0% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    4.0% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    2% (1985); considerable underemployment
Budget:
    revenues $29.9 million; expenditures $16.3 million, including capital
    expenditures of $14.0 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
    $5.8 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    fish 55%, copra 42%
  partners:
    EC 20%, Marshall Islands 12%, US 8%, American Samoa 4% (1985)
Imports:
    $26.7 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    foodstuffs, fuel, transportation equipment
  partners:
    Australia 39%, Japan 21%, NZ 6%, UK 6%, US 3% (1985)
External debt:
    $2.0 million (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate 0% (1988 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP
Electricity:
    5,000 kW capacity; 13 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
    fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture:
    accounts for 30% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about
    95% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro,
    breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid:
    Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
    $273 million
Currency:
    Australian dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
    Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3177 (March 1992), 1.2835 (1991),
    1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986)
Fiscal year:
    NA
 
:Kiribati Communications
 
Highways:
    640 km of motorable roads
Inland waterways:
    small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands
Ports:
    Banaba and Betio (Tarawa)
Civil air:
    2 Trislanders; no major transport aircraft
Airports:
    21 total; 20 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
    over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    1,400 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean
    INTELSAT earth station
 
:Kiribati Defense Forces
 
Branches:
    no military force maintained; the Police Force carries out law enforcement
    functions and paramilitary duties; there are small police posts on all
    islands
Manpower availability:
    NA
Defense expenditures:
    $NA, NA% of GDP
 
.