Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: no specific limits;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to
May), cool season (May to December)
Terrain: most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
Natural resources: fish, fertile soil
Land use: 25% arable land; 55% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 2% other
Environment: archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited); subject to cyclones (October to April); deforestation
Note: located about 2,250 km north-northwest of New Zealand, about two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand