Botswana (2001) | Kiribati (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007) 15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227) 65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.7% (male 19,839; female 19,333)
15-64 years: 57% (male 27,705; female 28,438) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,385; female 1,849) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 92 (2000 est.) | 20 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
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 | slightly smaller than Texas | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. | 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. |
Birth rate | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | Tarawa |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | pula (BWP) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $455 million (2000) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (1995) |
Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) | 6.51 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 950 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 610 million kWh (1999) | 7 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.84 (2002), 1.93 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.55 (1999), 1.59 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) | Japan 56.7%, Thailand 16.6%, South Korea 16.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | 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 |
Highways | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) | France 28.7%, Australia 26.3%, Fiji 12.5%, Japan 9.5%, Latvia 5.4%, US 4.6%, New Zealand 4% (2002) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 51.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers |
Labor force - by occupation | 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: new legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.93 years
male: 57.97 years female: 64.03 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | 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 (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $61 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | 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 |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,586,119
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
98,549 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.47% (2001 est.) | 2.26% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
sparse system domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 86,000 (1997) | 3,800 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.28 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2000 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) |