CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Kiribati


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!| Background:
 * The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands water: 0 sq km land: 811 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line
 * 1 25 N, 173 00 E
 * Oceania
 * total: 811 sq km
 * four times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 1,143 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
 * mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
 * lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
 * phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
 * arable land: 2.74%
 * NA sq km
 * 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
 * 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
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
 * 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
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 57.3% (male 28,523; female 29,280) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,434; female 1,908) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 19.4 years female: 20.3 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 44.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 55.04 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 58.34 years female: 64.44 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: I-Kiribati !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: NA male: NA female: NA
 * 100,798 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 20,087; female 19,566)
 * total: 19.8 years
 * 2.25% (2004 est.)
 * 30.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 8.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 49.9 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 61.32 years
 * 4.24 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
 * predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian
 * Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999)
 * I-Kiribati, English (official)
 * definition: NA
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Kiribati former: Gilbert Islands note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government !| Legislative branch: elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: new legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
 * republic
 * Tarawa
 * 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)
 * 12 July 1979 (from UK)
 * Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
 * 12 July 1979
 * NA
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
 * Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president
 * Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
 * NA
 * ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
 * Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
 * the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year.
 * purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.)
 * 1.5% (2001 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.)
 * agriculture: 30%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 2.5% (2001 est.)
 * 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)
 * 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
 * revenues: $28.4 million
 * copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish
 * fishing, handicrafts
 * 0.7% (1991 est.)
 * 7 million kWh (2001)
 * 6.51 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 190 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $35 million f.o.b. (2002)
 * copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish
 * Japan 75%, Australia 8.3%, US 8.3%, Philippines 4.2%, Thailand 4.2% (2003)
 * $83 million c.i.f. (2002)
 * foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
 * Australia 41.7%, Fiji 26.7%, New Zealand 8.9%, Japan 5.9%, US 4% (2003)
 * $10 million (1999 est.)
 * $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.)
 * Australian dollar (AUD)
 * AUD
 * Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999)
 * NA
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service !| Radio broadcast stations: note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 4,500 (2002)
 * 500 (2002)
 * general assessment: NA
 * AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
 * 17,000 (1997)
 * 1 (not reported to be active) (2002)
 * 1,000 (1997)
 * .ki
 * 1 (2000)
 * 2,000 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) !| Waterways: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: passenger 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
 * total: 670 km
 * 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003)
 * Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton
 * total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
 * 20 (2003 est.)
 * total: 3
 * total: 17
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!| Military branches: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: !| Military - note:
 * no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands)
 * NA
 * NA
 * Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ
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