Kiribati (2006) | Jamaica (2003) | |
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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.6% (male 20,608/female 20,060)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 30,216/female 31,004) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,517/female 2,027) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.6% (male 395,074; female 376,870)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 870,486; female 869,431) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 82,022; female 101,984) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 19 (2006) | 35 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2006) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (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: 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. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 17.35 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05) |
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kingston |
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 local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | - | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $5.3 billion (2002 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 Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 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 Seymour MULLINGS
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $16.7 million largely from UK and Japan (2004) | 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 about 20% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy inched ahead, by 0.8% in 2000, 1.7% in 2001, and 0.8% in 2002; the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including serious violent crime. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment and tourism, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 11.16 million kWh (2003) | 5.833 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 12 million kWh (2003) | 6.272 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 96.8%
hydro: 1.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (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, 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) | 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 - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 48.42 (2002), 46 (2001), 42.7 (2000), 39.04 (1999), 36.55 (1998) |
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 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 (eligible for two more terms); 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 Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) 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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2005) | US 28.1%, Canada 12.2%, Norway 10.7%, UK 10.5%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002) |
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 - $10.08 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 31% services: 63% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2005) | 1% (2002 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: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 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 | - | major 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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2005) | US 45%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 4.7% (2002) |
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, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 47.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 13.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2005 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 250 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 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 (2001 est.) | 1.13 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | 2.70213%, 32%, 65.3% | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
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, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 appointed to represent Banaba, and 1 other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 (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) |
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 NA 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: 62.08 years
male: 59.06 years female: 65.24 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 75.85 years
male: 73.84 years female: 77.97 years (2003 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,749 GRT/3,911 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2006) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,536 GRT/62,868 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, US 2 (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) | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 755,698 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 528,689 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 27,398 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, first Monday in 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 (2006 est.) | -5.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 10 km |
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; 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 [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; 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 | 105,432 (July 2006 est.) | 2,695,867 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 34.2% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.24% (2006 est.) | 0.61% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
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 | - | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999) | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, 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: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 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 (Christmas Island); 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2004) | 54,640 (1996) |
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 | 4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 15.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) | none |