Kiribati (2001) | Botswana (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 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) | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern |
Age structure | 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.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
717 sq km land: 717 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | 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. | 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. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
Capital | Tarawa | Gaborone |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | pula (BWP) |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $455 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati | chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $73 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 950 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 610 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources |
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 |
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 |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) |
Executive branch | 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% |
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% |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) |
Fiscal year | NA | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 22 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | 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 | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country |
Highways | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | 6.2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 8.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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) | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) |
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 | 0 km | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | English (official), Setswana |
Legal system | NA | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
Location | 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 | Southern Africa, north of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | 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 | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $61 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.2% (FY99) |
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, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
Natural hazards | 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 | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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 |
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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 47% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | 0.47% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | 237,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 86,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 40% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | none |