Kiribati (2003) | Aruba (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) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.7% (male 19,839; female 19,333)
15-64 years: 57% (male 27,705; female 28,438) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,385; female 1,849) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
21.29% (male 7,709; female 7,193) 15-64 years: 68.52% (male 23,111; female 24,859) 65 years and over: 10.19% (male 2,954; female 4,181) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | aloes; livestock; fish |
Airports | 20 (2002) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 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:
193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than 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. | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $541 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Oranjestad |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 68.5 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 1 January 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Aruba |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Aruban guilder/florin (AWG) |
Death rate | 8.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $285 million (1996) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
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:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (1995) | $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996 |
Economy - overview | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural 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. | Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2001) | 418.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2001) | 450 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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 Jamanota 188 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.84 (2002), 1.93 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.55 (1999), 1.59 (1998) | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President NA; 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 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001) election results: Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA%; Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $2.2 billion (including oil reexports) (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Japan 56.7%, Thailand 16.6%, South Korea 16.3% (2002) | US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (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 | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 12 30 N, 69 58 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 | - |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
total:
800 km paved: 513 km unpaved: 287 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | drug-money-laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 28.7%, Australia 26.3%, Fiji 12.5%, Japan 9.5%, Latvia 5.4%, US 4.6%, New Zealand 4% (2002) | US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 51.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
6.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 4.2% (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) | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0.01 sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers | 41,501 (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
7% (including aloe 0.01%) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 93% (1993 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish |
Legal system | NA | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
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) note: new legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 |
unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA December 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AVP 43%, MEP 39%, OLA 9% PPA 4%, ADN 2%, PARA 1%, MAS 0.5%; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.93 years
male: 57.97 years female: 64.03 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
78.52 years male: 75.16 years female: 82.04 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
NA total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
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 in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,120 GRT/3,635 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) | Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Flag Day, 18 March |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
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 outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | NEGL; white sandy beaches |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NEGL |
Political parties and leaders | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; 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 |
Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 98,549 (July 2003 est.) | 70,007 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.26% (2003 est.) | 0.64% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 50,000 (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 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish |
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 (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 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:
NA domestic: more than adequate international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,800 (1999) | 33,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3,402 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 0.6% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | none |