Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low-level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to sea-level rise
Environment - current issues: heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - 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: 91,985 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40.85% (male 19,027; female 18,551) 15-64 years: 56% (male 25,411; female 26,097) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 1,239; female 1,660) (2000 est.)