Kiribati (2001) | Guinea (2002) | |
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) | 33 prefectures and 1 special zone (zone special)*; Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou |
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: 42.8% (male 1,660,795; female 1,669,850)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 2,067,991; female 2,165,625) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 86,968; female 123,836) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 15 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 10 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 1 (2002) |
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: 245,857 sq km
land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Independent from France since 1958, Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Lansana CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998. Unrest in Sierra Leone has spilled over into Guinea, threatening stability and creating a humanitarian emergency. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 39.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $395.7 million
expenditures: $472.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Conakry |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 320 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) |
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 Guinea
conventional short form: Guinea local long form: Republique de Guinee local short form: Guinee former: French Guinea |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Guinean franc (GNF) |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $3.6 billion (1999 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 Barrie R. WALKLEY
embassy: Rue Ka 038, Conakry mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23 FAX: [224] 41 15 22 |
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 Rafiou Alpha Oumar BARRY
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688 |
Disputes - international | none | major border incursions from Revolutionary United Front combatants from Sierra Leone, dissident Guinean forces, Liberian Army, and mercenaries between September 2000 and March 2001 killed over 1,500 Guinean civilians and military personnel; the borders remain mostly sealed |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $359.2 million (1998) (1998) |
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. | Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1999. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. The government made encouraging progress in budget management in 1997-99, and reform progress was praised in the World Bank/IMF October 2000 assessment. However, escalating fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders has caused major economic disruptions. In addition to direct defense costs, the violence has led to a sharp decline in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff, while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local markets. Multilateral aid - including Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief - and single digit inflation should permit 5% growth in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 716.1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 770 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 46%
hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 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 | deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to environmental damage |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 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) | Guinean francs per US dollar - 1,974.4 (December 2001), 1,950.6 (2001), 1,746.9 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999), 1,236.8 (1998), 1,095.3 (1997) |
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 Lansana CONTE (head of military government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Lamine SIDIME (since 8 March 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president; election last held 14 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003); the prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 56.1%, Mamadou Boye BA (UNR-PRP) 24.6%, Alpha CONDE (RPG) 16.6%, |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | $694.5 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | Belgium, US, Ireland, Russia |
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 | three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources | purchasing power parity - $15 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 38% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,970 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 11 00 N, 10 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 | the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands |
Highways | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) (1994) |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $555.2 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | France, US, Belgium, Cote d'Ivoire |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 2 October 1958 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | 3.2% (1994) (1994) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 127.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 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) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 950 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 3 million (1999) (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,399 km
border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.6%
permanent crops: 2.44% other: 93.96% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; 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 |
unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 June 2002; next to be held NA 2007 election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 61.6%, UPR 26.6%, other 11.8%; seats by party - PUP 85, UPR 20, other 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 46.28 years
male: 43.81 years female: 48.82 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.9% male: 49.9% female: 21.9% (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 | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
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 (2002 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) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $137.6 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,812,131 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 915,028 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
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 | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of civil war in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to approximately 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees (2002 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 |
Democratic Party of Guinea or PDG-AST [Marcel CROS]; Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or UNP [Paul Louis FABER]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; People's Party of Guinea or PPG [Pascal TOLNO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress and Renewal or UPR; note - Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP and Union for the New Republic or UNR merged into UPR [Siradiou DIALLO]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union for the New Republic or UNR [Mamadou Boye BA]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 7,775,065 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (1994 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | 2.23% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | 357,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,086 km
standard gauge: 279 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry, of which 36 km are usable and the rest are deteriorating (2000 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% |
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: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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: poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay system
domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 37,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 21,567 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 6 lowpowered stations (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) |