Kiribati (2002) | Grenada (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) | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | Tarawa | Saint George's |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 19 December 1973 |
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: Grenada |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $182.8 million (1998) |
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:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $8.3 million (1995) |
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, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, 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. | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2000) | 111.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2000) | 120 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); 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 Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament 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 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) | $62.3 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) |
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 | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $394 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
Geography - note | 21 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 administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | $44 million c.i.f. (1999) | $217.5 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) |
Imports - partners | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 14 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is 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 | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 (2002 est.) |
none (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) | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
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 | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
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 |
Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 96,335 (July 2002 est.) | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.28% (2002 est.) | -0.06% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 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:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,800 (1999) | 27,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 976 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 15% (1997) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | none |