International 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: 0% permanent crops: 51% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 3% other: 46%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to
March; occasional tornadoes
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
Climate Change
Note: 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; 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: 79,386 (July 1995 est.)