Kiribati

Airports

21 total; 20 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

2 Trislanders; no major transport aircraft

Highways

640 km of motorable roads

Inland waterways

small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands

Ports

Banaba and Betio (Tarawa)

Telecommunications

1,400 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

no military force maintained; the Police Force carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; there are small police posts on all islands

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

NA

Agriculture

accounts for 30% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about 95% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues $29.9 million; expenditures $16.3 million, including capital expenditures of $14.0 million (1990 est.)

Currency

Australian dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $273 million

Electricity

5,000 kW capacity; 13 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3177 (March 1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986)

Exports

$5.8 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: fish 55%, copra 42% partners: EC 20%, Marshall Islands 12%, US 8%, American Samoa 4% (1985)

External debt

$2.0 million (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year

NA

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $36.8 million, per capita $525; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)

Imports

$26.7 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, fuel, transportation equipment partners: Australia 39%, Japan 21%, NZ 6%, UK 6%, US 3% (1985)

Industrial production

growth rate 0% (1988 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP

Industries

fishing, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.0% (1990 est.)

Overview

The country has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Real GDP declined about 8% in 1987, as the fish catch fell sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production was hampered by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real GDP growing by 17%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production and a good fish catch. Following the strong surge in output in 1988, GNP increased 1% in both 1989 and 1990.

Unemployment rate

2% (1985); considerable underemployment

Climate

tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

Coastline

1,143 km

Comparative area

slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Disputes

none

Environment

typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited

Land area

717 km2; includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 51%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 3%; other 46%

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)

Note

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

Terrain

mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs

Total area

717 km2

Administrative divisions

3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - a new administrative structure of 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) may have been changed to 21 island councils (one for each of the inhabited islands) named Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Canton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina

Capital

Tarawa

Constitution

12 July 1979

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador (vacant) lives in Tarawa (Kiribati) US: the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati

Elections

President: last held on 8 July 1991 (next to be held May 1995); results - Teatao TEANNAKI 52%, Roniti TEIWAKI 28% House of Assembly: last held on 8 May 1991 (next to be held May 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (40 total; 39 elected) percent of seats by party NA

Executive branch

president (Beretitenti), vice president (Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti), Cabinet

Flag

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

Independence

12 July 1979 (from UK; formerly Gilbert Islands)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal, High Court

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government: President Teatao TEANNAKI (since 8 July 1991); Vice President Taomati IUTA (since 8 July 1991)

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu)

Long-form name

Republic of Kiribati; note - pronounced Kiribas

Member of

ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP (associate), IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 12 July (1979)

Political parties and leaders

National Progressive Party, Teatao TEANNAKI; Christian Democratic Party, Teburoro TITO; New Movement Party, leader NA; Liberal Party, Tewareka TENTOA; 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

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

republic

Birth rate

33 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Micronesian

Infant mortality rate

99 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)

Languages

English (official), Gilbertese

Life expectancy at birth

52 years male, 56 years female (1992)

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

Nationality

noun - I-Kiribati (singular and plural); adjective - I-Kiribati

Net migration rate

1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

Kiribati Trades Union Congress - 2,500 members

Population

74,788 (July 1992), growth rate 2.1% (1992)

Religions

Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational) 40.9%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)

Total fertility rate

3.9 children born/woman (1992)