French Guiana (2005) | Kiribati (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 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: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
40.53% (male 19,322; female 18,833) 15-64 years: 56.27% (male 26,136; female 26,841) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,291; female 1,726) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 21 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
total:
717 sq km land: 717 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. | 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 | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Cayenne | Tarawa |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 378 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1988) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan |
Economy - overview | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national 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, largely from the UK and Japan, 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. Performance in 2000 fell short of the 2.5% growth in 1999, which benefited from increased copra production and exceptionally large revenues from fishing licenses. |
Electricity - consumption | 427.9 million kWh (2002) | 6.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 460.1 million kWh (2002) | 7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
chief of state:
President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Assembly, includes the president, vice president, attorney general, and up to eight other ministers elections: the House of Assembly 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 27 November 1998 (next to be held by NA November 2002); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 52.3%, Dr. Harry TONG 45.8%, Amberoti NIKORA 1.9%, Taberannang TIMEON 0% |
Exports | NA | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) |
Exports - commodities | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 53 00 W | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent | 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 |
Highways | total: 817 km (1998) | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe | - |
Imports | NA | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.7% (1992 est.) |
Industries | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 2% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 58,800 (1997) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French | English (official), I-Kiribati |
Legal system | French legal system | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
unicameral House of Assembly or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (41 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member, and one nominated to represent Banaba; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 1998 (next to be held by NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Maneaban Te Mauri Party 14, National Progressive Party 11, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.09 years
male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname | Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, 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 | South America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 3 | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie | 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 | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA% |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding | 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 | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] | Maneaban Te Mauri Party [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party [Teatao TEANNAKI]
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 | 195,506 (July 2005 est.) | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.1% (2005 est.) | 2.31% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Degrad des Cannes | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 17,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 | 51,000 (2001) | 2,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 138,200 (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (2001) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |
5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) |