_#_Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south
_#_Natural resources: negligible
_#_Land use: arable land 4%; permanent crops 22%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 74%
_#_Environment: subject to typhoons from November to March
_#_Note: located 4,500 km south of Hawaii in the South Pacific Ocean
_*People #_Population: 17,882 (July 1991), growth rate 0.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 24 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)