fshore anchorage only
Airports:
lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by
Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938

:Kingman Reef Defense Forces

Note:
defense is the responsibility of the US

:Kiribati Geography

Total area:
717 km2
Land area:
717 km2; includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands,
Phoenix Islands
Comparative area:
slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
1,143 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain:
mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Natural resources:
phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use:
arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 51%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and
woodland 3%; other 46%
Environment:
typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; 20 of the 33
islands are inhabited
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

:Kiribati People

Population:
74,788 (July 1992), growth rate 2.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
33 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
99 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
52 years male, 56 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.9 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - I-Kiribati (singular and plural); adjective - I-Kiribati
Ethnic divisions:
Micronesian
Religions:
Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational) 40.9%, Seventh-Day
Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)
Languages:
English (official), Gilbertese
Literacy:
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force:
7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)
Organized labor:
Kiribati Trades Union Congress - 2,500 members

:Kiribati Government

Long-form name:
Republic of Kiribati; note - pronounced Kiribas
Type:
republic
Capital:
Tarawa
Administrative divisions:
3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - a new