Kiribati (2001) | Honduras (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) | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro |
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:
42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684) 15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003) 65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 119 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total:
107 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 84 (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:
112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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. | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues:
$607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 820 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
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 Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $5.4 billion (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 Frank ALMAGUER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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 Hugo NOE PINO chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $557.8 million (1999) |
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. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 3.232 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 145 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 3.319 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
44.71% hydro: 55.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 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 | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch 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, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
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) | lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (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 Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) head of government: President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PN) 40%, other 10% |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%, Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999) |
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
16.2% industry: 31.9% services: 51.9% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 15 00 N, 86 30 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 | - |
Highways | total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 42.1% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | 4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 11% (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) | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 740 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 2.3 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
15% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 54% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | NA | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
69.35 years male: 67.51 years female: 71.28 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7% (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 | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 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.) |
total:
313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 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) | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $35 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,515,101 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
902,220 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
72,335 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
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 | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.12 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 |
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Marias FUNES Valladares, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Carlos URBIZO, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 6,406,052
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% | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | 2.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | 2.45 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 234,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 14,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 28% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 465 km (navigable by small craft) |