Kiribati (2001) | Dominican Republic (2005) | |
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) | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde |
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: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 31 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2004 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: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
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. | Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $2.625 billion
expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Santo Domingo |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $7.745 billion (2004 est.) |
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 Hans H. HERTELL
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
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-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $239.6 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. | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 8.912 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 9.583 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | 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: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 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 | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
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) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000) |
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 Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7% |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | NA |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | NA | calendar year |
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 | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
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 | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti |
Highways | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 129,900 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 55% (2004 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, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | Spanish |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system |
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 National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.44 years
male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 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 | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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.) |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT
by type: cargo 3 (2005) |
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) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $180 million (1998) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.1% (1998) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
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 | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 |
Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS) |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 8,950,034 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | 1.29% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,743 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Roman Catholic 95% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote |
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: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 901,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 2,120,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 25 (2003) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 17% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | - |