Canada (2001) | Kiribati (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* | 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:
18.95% (male 3,067,102; female 2,918,839) 15-64 years: 68.28% (male 10,846,151; female 10,725,800) 65 years and over: 12.77% (male 1,715,071; female 2,319,842) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 20,886/female 20,322)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 31,083/female 31,884) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,554/female 2,088) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 1,417 (2000 est.) | 19 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
517 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 244 under 914 m: 89 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
900 1,524 to 2,437 m: 74 914 to 1,523 m: 362 under 914 m: 464 (2000 est.) |
total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total:
9,976,140 sq km land: 9,220,970 sq km water: 755,170 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 larger than the US | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Its paramount political problem continues to be the relationship of the province of Quebec, with its French-speaking residents and unique culture, to the remainder of the country. | 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 | 11.21 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$126.1 billion expenditures: $125.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.8 billion (2000) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
Capital | Ottawa | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 243,791 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Canada |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | - |
Death rate | 7.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.9 billion (2000) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Gordon D. GIFFIN embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 238-5720 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KERGIN chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle consulate(s): Miami, Princeton, San Francisco, and San Jose |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary disputes with the US (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island) | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.3 billion (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) |
Economy - overview | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Real rates of growth have averaged nearly 3.0% since 1993. Unemployment is falling and government budget surpluses are being partially devoted to reducing the large public sector debt. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) have touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. With its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Two shadows loom, the first being the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas, which has been raising the possibility of a split in the federation. Another long-term concern is the flow south to the US of professional persons lured by higher pay, lower taxes, and the immense high-tech infrastructure. | 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. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. |
Electricity - consumption | 497.532 billion kWh (1999) | 8.37 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 42.911 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 12.953 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 567.193 billion kWh (1999) | 9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
26.38% hydro: 60% nuclear: 12.31% other: 1.31% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities | 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
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 |
Ethnic groups | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5032 (January 2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Jean CHRETIEN (since 4 November 1993) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is automatically designated by the governor general to become prime minister |
chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; 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 Teima ONORIO 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 its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 17 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 63.7%, Nabuti MWEMWENIKARAWA 32.9% |
Exports | $272.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles and parts, newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminum, telecommunications equipment, electricity | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | US 86%, Japan 3%, UK, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, China (1999) | US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
Flag description | three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band | 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 - $774.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 31% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 60 00 N, 95 00 W | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 85% of the population is concentrated within 300 km of the US/Canada border | 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 |
Heliports | 18 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
901,902 km paved: 318,371 km (including 16,571 km of expressways) unpaved: 583,531 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market | - |
Imports | $238.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, crude oil, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable consumer goods, electricity | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 76%, Japan 3%, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea (1999) | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) |
Independence | 1 July 1867 (from UK) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish products, petroleum and natural gas | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 46.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2000) | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURCA, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 760 (2000 est.) | - |
Irrigated land | 7,100 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 16.1 million (2000) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 74%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, agriculture 3%, other 3% (2000) | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total:
8,893 km border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 38% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5% | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (a body whose members are appointed to serve until reaching 75 years of age by the governor general and selected on the advice of the prime minister; its normal limit is 104 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (301 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 27 November 2000 (next to be held 2005) election results: percent of vote by party as of January 2001 - Liberal Party 42%, Canadian Alliance 22%, Bloc Quebecois 13%, New Democratic Party 4%, Progressive Conservative Party 4%; seats by party as of January 2001 - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.56 years male: 76.16 years female: 83.13 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US | 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 |
Map references | North America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
121 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,767,259 GRT/2,633,290 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 67, cargo 13, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 17, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,435 GRT/42,682 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Malaysia 1, Singapore 1, Turkey 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Canadian Forces (includes Land Forces Command or LC, Maritime Command or MC, Air Command or AC, Communications Command or CC, Training Command or TC), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7.5 billion (FY00/01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00/01) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
8,325,084 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
7,114,851 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
215,627 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day/Canada Day, 1 July (1867) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow | 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 | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 6.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Canadian Alliance [Stockwell DAY]; Liberal Party [Jean CHRETIEN]; New Democratic Party [Alexa MCDONOUGH]; Progressive Conservative Party [Joe CLARK] | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; 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 | 31,592,805 (July 2001 est.) | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.99% (2001 est.) | 2.235% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 535, FM 53, shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) |
Radios | 32.3 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
36,114 km; note - there are two major transcontinental freight railway systems: Canadian National (privatized November 1995) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service provided by government-operated firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own standard gauge: 36,114 km 1.435-m gauge (156 km electrified) (1998) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 40%, other 18% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.975 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.744 male(s)/female total population: 0.986 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent service provided by modern technology domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18.5 million (1999) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.207 million (1997) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.8% (2000 est.) | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 3,000 km (including Saint Lawrence Seaway) | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) |