:Kingman Reef Communications
Ports:
none; offshore anchorage only
Airports:
lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by
Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
:Kingman Reef 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
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