Kiribati (2001) | Greenland (2007) | |
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) | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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: 24% (male 6,926/female 6,597)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 20,901/female 18,012) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,873/female 2,035) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 14 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than three times the size of 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. | Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973, but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.01 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $1.36 billion
expenditures: $1.27 billion (2005) |
Capital | Tarawa | name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 45 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Greenland is divided into four time zones |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 44,087 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $25 million (1999) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
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 (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Disputes - international | none | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $512 million; note - subsidy from Denmark (2005) |
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 remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities are ongoing. Press reports in early 2007 indicated that two international aluminum companies were considering building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of local hydropower potential. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland announced plans to begin summer-season direct flights to the U.S. east coast in May 2007 potentially opening a major new tourism market. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 279 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2005) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 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 | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) |
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) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002) |
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: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election results: Hans ENOKSEN reelected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | Denmark 67.8%, Japan 11.9%, China 5.5% (2006) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white |
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: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 72 00 N, 40 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 | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap |
Highways | 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% |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | Denmark 69.9%, Sweden 16.3%, Norway 3.7% (2006) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 1% (2005 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) | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 32,120 (2004) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 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% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Legal system | NA | the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply |
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 Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 8 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.23 years
male: 66.65 years female: 73.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 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 North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
Map references | Oceania | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
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: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,422 GRT/2,340 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Denmark 1) (2007) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | defense is the responsibility of Denmark |
Military branches | 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 | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | June 21 (longest day) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
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 | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 |
Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Finn KARLSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark); Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood) [Josef MOTZFELDT] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule); Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform); Siumut (Forward Party) [Hans ENOKSEN] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 56,344 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | -0.03% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Evangelical Lutheran |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.115 male(s)/female (2007 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: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 25,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 32,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus some local low-power stations, and 3 Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) stations (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 9.3% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | - |