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Compare Kiribati (2003) - Jamaica (2006)

Compare Kiribati (2003) z Jamaica (2006)

 Kiribati (2003)Jamaica (2006)
 KiribatiJamaica
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) 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland


note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
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: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181)


15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394)


65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Airports 20 (2002) 35 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 16


914 to 1,523 m: 12


under 914 m: 4 (2002)
total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (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: 10,991 sq km


land: 10,831 sq km


water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative four times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Connecticut
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. The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England siezed the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of which became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs created by the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Birth rate 31.24 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $28.4 million


expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $2.8 billion


expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.)
Capital Tarawa name: Kingston


geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W


time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline 1,143 km 1,022 km
Constitution 12 July 1979 6 August 1962
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: Jamaica
Currency Australian dollar (AUD) -
Death rate 8.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $10 million (1999 est.) $7.162 billion (2005 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 Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON


embassy: Mutual Life Building, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859


FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
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 Gordon SHIRLEY


chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660


FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081


consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (1995) $18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004)
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. The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a growing stock of internal debt - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s. The ratio of debt to GDP is 135%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.
Electricity - consumption 6.51 million kWh (2001) 2.974 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production 7 million kWh (2001) 3.717 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
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, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Exchange rates Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.84 (2002), 1.93 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.55 (1999), 1.59 (1998) Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001)
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 ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)


head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006)


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 on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports NA (2001) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners Japan 56.7%, Thailand 16.6%, South Korea 16.3% (2002) US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005)
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 diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 30%


industry: 7%


services: 63% (1998 est.)
agriculture: 4.9%


industry: 33.7%


services: 61.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 1.5% (2001 est.) 1.8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 1 25 N, 173 00 E 18 15 N, 77 30 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 strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Highways total: 670 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.7%


highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports NA (2001) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
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 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%, Japan 4.6% (2005)
Independence 12 July 1979 (from UK) 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 0.7% (1991 est.) -2% (2000 est.)
Industries fishing, handicrafts tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
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.)
total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.5% (2001 est.) 15.3% (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) ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land NA sq km 250 sq km (2002)
Judicial branch Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers 1.2 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture: 19.3%


industry: 16.6%


services: 64.1% (2004)
Land boundaries 0 km 0 km
Land use arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 50.68%


other: 49.32% (1998 est.)
arable land: 15.83%


permanent crops: 10.01%


other: 74.16% (2005)
Languages I-Kiribati, English (official) English, patois English
Legal system NA based on English common law; has not accepted 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)


note: new legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than October 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth total population: 60.93 years


male: 57.97 years


female: 64.03 years (2003 est.)
total population: 73.24 years


male: 71.54 years


female: 75.03 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school


total population: 87.9%


male: 84.1%


female: 91.6% (2003 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 in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references Oceania Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines


territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
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: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2


foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (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) Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $31.17 million (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 0.4% (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 12 July (1979) Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Nationality noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)


adjective: I-Kiribati
noun: Jamaican(s)


adjective: Jamaican
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 hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
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
Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population 98,549 (July 2003 est.) 2,758,124 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 19.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.26% (2003 est.) 0.8% (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 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways 0 km total: 272 km


standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge


note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Religions Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network


domestic: NA


international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use 3,800 (1999) 342,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 2.7 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) 7 (1997)
Terrain mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate 4.28 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) 11.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) -
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