Kiribati (2004) | Uruguay (2002) | |
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) | 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres |
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: 24.4% (male 422,826; female 402,324)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 1,047,740; female 1,072,032) 65 years and over: 13% (male 181,522; female 260,131) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 20 (2003 est.) | 64 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
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: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 31 (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: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
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. | A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By the end of the year the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
Birth rate | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 17.28 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.7 billion
expenditures: $4.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2000) (2000) |
Capital | Tarawa | Montevideo |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 660 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay local short form: Uruguay former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
Death rate | 8.49 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $7.7 billion (2001 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 Martin J. SILVERSTEIN
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
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 Hugo FERNANDEZ-FAINGOLD
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | uncontested dispute with Brazil over islands in the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) | $NA |
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. | Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually in 1996-98, in 1999-2001 the economy suffered from lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained more stable than those of its neighbors, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating - one of only two in South America. Challenges for the government of President Jorge BATLLE include reducing the budget deficit, expanding Uruguay's trade ties beyond its Mercosur trade partners, and reducing the costs of public services. GDP fell by 1.3% in 2000 and by 1.5% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2001) | 7.35 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 950 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.3 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2001) | 7.527 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 7%
hydro: 93% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 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 | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 14.3325 (January 2002), 13.3191 (2001), 12.0996 (2000), 11.3393 (1999), 10.4719 (1998), 9.4418 (1997) |
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 Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 31 October 1999, with runoff election on 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Jorge BATLLE Ibanez elected president; percent of vote - Jorge BATLLE Ibanez 52% in a runoff against Tabare VAZQUEZ 44% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $2.24 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | meat, rice, leather products, wool, vehicles, dairy products |
Exports - partners | Japan 75%, Australia 8.3%, US 8.3%, Philippines 4.2%, Thailand 4.2% (2003) | Mercosur partners 40%, EU 20%, US 8% (2001 est.) |
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 | nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million - supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 29% services: 65% (2001) (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | -1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 33 00 S, 56 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 | second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
total: 8,764 km
paved: 7,800 km unpaved: 964 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 26% (1997) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | Australia 41.7%, Fiji 26.7%, New Zealand 8.9%, Japan 5.9%, US 4% (2003) | Mercosur partners 44%, EU 18%, US 9% (2001 est.) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | -2.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
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.) |
14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 3.6% (2001) (2001) |
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 | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 14 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,800 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 (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 1.2 million (2001) (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
arable land: 7.21%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 92.52% (1998 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
Legal system | NA | based on Spanish 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) 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 General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Encuentro Progresista 12, Colorado Party 10, Blanco 7, New Sector/Space Coalition 1; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Encuentro Progresista 40, Colorado Party 33, Blanco 22, New Sector/Space Coalition 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.32 years
male: 58.34 years female: 64.44 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 75.66 years
male: 72.32 years female: 79.17 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.3% male: 96.9% female: 97.7% (1995 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 | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Oceania | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,752 GRT/5,228 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 4, Greece 1 (2002 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) | Army, Navy (including Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard, Marines), Air Force, Police (Coracero Guard, Grenadier Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $250 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.1% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 824,395 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 666,880 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
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 | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 |
Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE Ibanez]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera]; New Sector/Space Coalition or Nuevo Espacio [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio [Tabare VAZQUEZ] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 100,798 (July 2004 est.) | 3,386,575 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 6% (1997) |
Population growth rate | 2.25% (2004 est.) | 0.79% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | - | 1.97 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 2,993 km
standard gauge: 2,993 km 1.435-m gauge note: of the total route length, 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in only partial use; moreover, not all lines offer passenger service (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
general assessment: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 929,141 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 500 (2002) | 350,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 20 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 4.24 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.35 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 15.2% (2001) (2001) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) | 1,600 km (used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft) |