Kiribati (2002) | Luxembourg (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) | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg |
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: 18.9% (male 46,118/female 43,356)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 159,498/female 156,075) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 28,027/female 41,339) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 2 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. |
Birth rate | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $9.195 billion
expenditures: $9.573 billion; including capital expenditures of $975.5 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | name: Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $NA |
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 Ann WAGNER
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
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 Joseph WEYLAND
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $235.59 million (2004) |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | - |
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. | This stable, high-income economy - benefitting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks first in the world. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2000) | 6.14 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.346 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 5.287 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2000) | 3.203 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 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 | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
Exports | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) | 634 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass |
Exports - partners | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) | Germany 21%, France 16.3%, Belgium 9.2%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.5%, Spain 6.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005) |
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 red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 49 45 N, 6 10 E |
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 | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
- |
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) | 50,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) | Belgium 28.2%, Germany 21.8%, China 12.8%, France 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2005) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 1839 (from the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | 4.5% (2005 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2005 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) | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
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 | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 316,500 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.94%
permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) |
Legal system | NA | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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) |
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.89 years
male: 75.6 years female: 82.38 years (2006 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% (2000 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 | Western Europe, between France and Germany |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
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 (2002 est.) |
total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 557,636 GRT/792,069 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, chemical tanker 16, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 42 (Belgium 9, Finland 4, France 14, Germany 10, Netherlands 2, US 3) (2006) |
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 |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $231.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.9% (2003) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
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 | NA |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 155 km (2006) |
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 |
Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union) |
Population | 96,335 (July 2002 est.) | 474,413 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.28% (2002 est.) | 1.23% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | 87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000) |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 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: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,800 (1999) | 244,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 720,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 5 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 4.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2003) |