1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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
Agriculture
accounts for 23% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about 65% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food
Airports
total: 21 usable: 20 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 5
Area
total area: 717 sq km land area: 717 sq km comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Birth rate
31.64 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; there are small police posts on all islands); no military force is maintained
Budget
revenues: $29.9 million expenditures: $16.3 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1990 est.)
Capital
Tarawa
Climate
tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline
1,143 km
Constitution
12 July 1979
Currency
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Death rate
12.31 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
Digraph
KR
Diplomatic representation in US
Kiribati has no mission in the US
Economic aid
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $273 million
Electricity
capacity: 5,000 kW production: 13 million kWh consumption per capita: 190 kWh (1990)
Environment
current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; subject to occasional tornadoes international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change
Ethnic divisions
Micronesian
Exchange rates
Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.4364 (January 1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989)
Executive branch
chief of state and head of government: President (Beretitenti) Teatao TEANNAKI (since 8 July 1991); Vice President (Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti) Taomati IUTA (since 8 July 1991); election last held on 8 July 1991 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - Teatao TEANNAKI 52%, Roniti TEIWAKI 28% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from an elected parliament
Exports
$4.2 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: copra 50%, seaweed 16%, fish 15% partners: Denmark, Fiji, US
External debt
$2 million (December 1989 est.)
Fiscal year
NA
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
Highways
total: 640 km paved: NA unpaved: NA
House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu)
elections last held on 8 May 1991 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (40 total; 39 elected) percent of seats by party NA
Imports
$33.1 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel partners: Australia 40%, Japan 18%, Fiji 17%, NZ 6%, US 4% (1991)
Independence
12 July 1979 (from UK)
Industrial production
growth rate 0.7% (1992 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP
Industries
fishing, handicrafts
Infant mortality rate
98.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4% (1992 est.)
Inland waterways
small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal, High Court
Labor force
7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 51% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 3% other: 46%
Languages
English (official), Gilbertese
Legal system
NA
Legislative branch
unicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 54.16 years male: 52.56 years female: 55.78 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location
Oceania, Micronesia, straddling the equator in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia
Map references
Oceania
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Member of
ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, ITU, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Merchant marine
1 passenger-cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati former: Gilbert Islands
National holiday
Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $36.8 million (1990 est.)
National product per capita
$525 (1990 est.)
National product real growth rate
1.5% (1992 est.)
Nationality
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Natural resources
phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Net migration rate
0.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
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
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.
Political parties and leaders
National Progressive Party, Teatao TEANNAKI; Christian Democratic Party, Teburoro TITO; New Movement Party, leader NA; Liberal Party, Tewareka TENTOA; Maneaba Party, Roniti TEIWAKI 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
Population
77,853 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
1.99% (1994 est.)
Ports
Banaba and Betio (Tarawa)
Religions
Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational) 40.9%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
1,400 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Terrain
mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Total fertility rate
3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
US diplomatic representation
the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati