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Kiribati:
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Other pages in this profile of Kiribati:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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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 |
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 (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Geographic coordinates |
1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Map references |
Oceania |
Area |
total: 811 sq km land: 811 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Climate |
tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Terrain |
mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Natural resources |
phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Land use |
arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
NA |
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, Whaling 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 |
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Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |