Kiribati (2005) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (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) | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.9% (male 20,342/female 19,806)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 29,362/female 30,136) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,477/female 1,969) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 5,827; female 5,571)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 11,980; female 12,005) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 1,383; female 1,970) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 20 (2004 est.) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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.) |
- |
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: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | 1.5 times the size of 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. | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. |
Birth rate | 30.86 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 18.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $85.7 million
expenditures: $95.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Basseterre |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 135 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 19 September 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 8.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $140 million (2000) (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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 Osbert LIBURD
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) | $5.5 million (1995) (1995) |
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. | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The government revised estimates of 2001 growth down to 1% and faces dim recovery prospects in 2002, given the depressed state of the tourism industry, low sugar prices, and a growing budget deficit. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2002) | 88.35 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2002) | 95 million kWh (2000) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) | predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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 its 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 Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA | $51.7 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | France 45.7%, Japan 29.2%, US 9.1%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) | US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001) (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 17 20 N, 62 45 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 | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
total: 320 km
paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | NA | $141.3 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | Australia 33.6%, Fiji 29.8%, Japan 10.3%, New Zealand 6.9%, France 4.1% (2004) | US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | total: 48.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 1.7% (2001 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 18,172 (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 80.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | English |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law |
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: 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 (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.71 years
male: 58.71 years female: 64.86 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 71.29 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 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, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
none (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) | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
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 (July to October) |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -9.5 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 |
Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 103,092 (July 2005 est.) | 38,736 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.25% (2005 est.) | 0.01% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Betio | Basseterre, Charlestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 28,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 58 km
narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati; connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: good interisland and international connections
domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 500 (2002) | 205 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 4.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 4.5% (1997) (1997) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) | none |