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 changes in sea level
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, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
21 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
People Kiribati
Population:
103,092 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 20,342/female 19,806)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 29,362/female 30,136)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,477/female 1,969) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.05 years
male: 19.61 years
female: 20.58 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.25% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
30.86 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)