Kiribati (2001) | Swaziland (2006) | |
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) | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
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: 40.7% (male 233,169/female 229,103)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 303,260/female 330,460) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 16,071/female 24,271) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 21 (2000 est.) | 18 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2006) |
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: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection. |
Birth rate | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $805.6 million
expenditures: $957.1 million; including capital expenditures of $147 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | the first constitution was signed into law in July 2005 and is scheduled to be implemented in January 2006 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $357 million (2003 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 Lewis LUCKE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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 Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $104 million (2001) |
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. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly two-thirds of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.5 million kWh (1999) | 1.161 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 821.4 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (1999) | 392 million kWh (2003) |
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: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 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 | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | African 97%, European 3% |
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) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | NA | 1 April - 31 March |
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
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: 11.9%
industry: 51.5% services: 36.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
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 | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
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%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
Imports | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1992 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | 54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 71.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 4% (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) | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 155,700 (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), I-Kiribati | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | NA | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 32.62 years
male: 32.1 years female: 33.17 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (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 | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
- |
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) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $41.6 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
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 | drought |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 |
political parties are banned by the government under an emergency decree that will be revoked when the new constitution takes effect (January 2006)- the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) | 1,136,334
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 69% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2001 est.) | -0.23% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 35,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 200,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.53 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 40% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | - |