_*Communications #_Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*Defense Forces #Note: defense is the responsibility of the US % @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
_#_Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds