kiribati

Capital: South Tarawa Population: 103,500 Official Languages: English Gilbertese Time zone: +12, +13, +14 Dialing Code: +686

Government: Parliamentary republic Area: 811 km2 Ethnic groups: 98.8% Micronesian Currency : Kiribati dollar, Australian dollar ISO 3166 code: KI

Basic Info

Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000 (2011), and the island nation is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point.

Geography

Kiribati consists of about 32 atolls and one solitary island (Banaba), extending into both the eastern and western hemispheres. The groups of islands are:

• Banaba: an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands

• Gilbert Islands: 16 atolls located some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) north of Fiji

• Phoenix Islands: 8 atolls and coral islands located some 1,800 kilometres (1,118 mi)

• Line Islands: 8 atolls and one reef, located about 3,300 kilometres (2,051 mi) east of the Gilberts

Climate

According to the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (previously South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)), two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater in 1999. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise by about half a metre (20 in) by 2100 due to global warming and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased soil salination and will be largely submerged.

Religion

Christianity is the major religion, having been introduced by missionaries in the 19th century. The population is predominantly Roman Catholic, although a substantial portion of the population is Congregationalist Protestant. Many other Protestant denominations, including more evangelical types, are also represented. The Bahá'í religion also exists in Kiribati, along with Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the latter numbering 15,364 at the end of 2011.

Administrative divisions

Kiribati was formally divided into districts until its independence. The country is now divided into three island groups which have no administrative function, including a group which unites the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands (ministry at London, Christmas). Each inhabited island has its own council (three councils on Tarawa: Betio, South-Tarawa, North-Tarawa; two councils on Tabiteuea). The original districts used to be:

• Banaba

• Tarawa Atoll

• Northern Gilbert Islands

• Central Gilbert Island

• Southern Gilbert Islands

• Line Islands.

The island groups include:

• Gilbert Islands

• Phoenix Islands,

• Line Islands.

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