Location: Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note—on 1 January 1995, Kiribati unilaterally moved the International Date Line from the middle of the country to include its easternmost islands and make it the same day throughout the country
Geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 717 sq km
land: 717 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes three island groups—Gilbert Islands, Line Islands,
Phoenix Islands
Area—comparative: four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
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
Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs