Kiribati (2001) | French Guiana (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) | none (overseas department of France) |
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:
30.47% (male 27,669; female 26,428) 15-64 years: 64.05% (male 61,457; female 52,266) 65 years and over: 5.48% (male 4,937; female 4,805) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total:
7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (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:
91,000 sq km land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | 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. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.02 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues:
$225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Tarawa | Cayenne |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 378 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form:
Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $NA |
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 economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 409.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 440 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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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 | NA |
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 | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
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) | Euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since NA January 1997) head of government: President of the General Council Andre LECANTE (since NA March 1998); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-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 |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | $155 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources | purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 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 | mostly an unsettled wilderness |
Highways | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
1,817 km paved: 817 km unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
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 | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $625 million (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 2.5% (1992) |
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) | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (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 | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,183 km border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 90% other: 10% (1996 est.) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | French |
Legal system | NA | French legal 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 |
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 - NA; 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 NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, PSG 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
76.3 years male: 72.97 years female: 79.79 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 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 | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Oceania | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) | French Forces, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
49,495 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
32,052 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese |
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 | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.14 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 |
Guianese Socialist Party or PSG [Antoine KARAM]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG); Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 177,562 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | 2.74% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | 104,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Roman Catholic |
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: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 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:
NA domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.17 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 21.4% (1998) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |