*Kiribati, Government
Member of:
ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU,
SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
(vacant)
US diplomatic representation:
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.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $36.8 million (1990 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1% (1990 est.)
National product per capita:
$525 (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.8% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
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:
copra 18%, fish 17%, seaweed 13%
partners:
EC 50%, Fiji 22%, US 18% (1990)
Imports:
$26.7 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
partners:
Australia 33%, Japan 24%, Fiji 19%, NZ 6%, US 6% (1990)
External debt:
$2 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 15% 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),
$273 million
Currency:
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.4837 (January 1993), 1.3600 (1992),
1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988)
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)
Airports:
total:
21
useable:
20
with permanent-surface runways:
4
with runways over 3,659 m :
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
0 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
5
Telecommunications:
1,400 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
*Kiribati, Defense Forces
Branches:
Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties;
there are small police posts on all islands); no military force is
maintained
Manpower availability:
NA
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
*Korea, North, Geography
Location:
Northeast Asia, between China and South Korea
Map references:
Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
120,540 km2
land area:
120,410 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries:
total 1,673 km, China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Coastline:
2,495 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
military boundary line:
50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the
Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are
banned
International disputes:
short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with
South Korea
Climate:
temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain:
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains
wide in west, discontinuous in east
Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold,
pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use:
arable land:
18%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
74%
other:
7%
Irrigated land:
14,000 km2 (1989)
Environment:
mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely
populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding
Note:
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia