Kiribati (2004) | Nicaragua (2004) | |
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) | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 20,087; female 19,566)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 28,523; female 29,280) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,434; female 1,908) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,038,887; female 1,001,518)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 1,570,494; female 1,586,706) 65 years and over: 3% (male 71,125; female 91,029) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 20 (2003 est.) | 176 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.) |
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: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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 Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $672.5 million
expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Managua |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 8.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $5.833 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
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 Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) | Substantial foreign support (2001) |
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 equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth of 1.5% - 2.5% has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2001) | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 17 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2001) | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002), 13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; 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 Teima ONORIO; 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: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold |
Exports - partners | Japan 75%, Australia 8.3%, US 8.3%, Philippines 4.2%, Thailand 4.2% (2003) | US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003) |
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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 25.4% services: 45.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 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 | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 41.7%, Fiji 26.7%, New Zealand 8.9%, Japan 5.9%, US 4% (2003) | US 24.9%, Venezuela 9.7%, Costa Rica 9%, Mexico 8.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, El Salvador 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | total: 49.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 30.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 5.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 1.91 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | NA | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
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 National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.32 years
male: 58.34 years female: 64.44 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.02 years
male: 67.99 years female: 72.16 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (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 | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger 1 (2004 est.) |
none |
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 (includes Navy), Navy |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $30.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,399,356 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 858,022 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,869 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
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 | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2004) |
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 |
Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 100,798 (July 2004 est.) | 5,359,759 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.25% (2004 est.) | 1.97% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
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 (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 171,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 500 (2002) | 202,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 4.24 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) |