Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Kiribati (2006) - Jamaica (2008) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Kiribati (2006) - Jamaica (2008)

Compare Kiribati (2006) z Jamaica (2008)

 Kiribati (2006)Jamaica (2008)
 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: 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: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)


15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310)


65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Airports 19 (2006) 34 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2006)
total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 5 (2007)
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: 23


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 21 (2007)
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 and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom 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 affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Birth rate 30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $55.52 million


expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05)
revenues: $3.441 billion


expenditures: $3.905 billion (2007 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)
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


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
Death rate 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $10 million (1999 est.) $7.138 billion (31 December 2007 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 Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON


embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6


mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5


telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000


FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348
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 $16.7 million largely from UK and Japan (2004) $35.74 million (2005)
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 Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces 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.
Electricity - consumption 11.16 million kWh (2003) 6.131 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 12 million kWh (2003) 6.985 billion kWh (2005)
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, 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 Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)
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 - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003)
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 Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)


head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007)


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 1,531 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
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 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006)
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 - composition by sector agriculture: 8.9%


industry: 24.2%


services: 66.8% (1998 est.)
agriculture: 5%


industry: 34%


services: 61% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 0.3% (2005) 1.5% (2007 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
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption 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 71,420 bbl/day (2004)
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 Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2005) US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006)
Independence 12 July 1979 (from UK) 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 0.7% (1991 est.) 2% (2007 est.)
Industries fishing, handicrafts tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
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: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.5% (2005 est.) 7.1% (2007 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, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land NA 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 (2001 est.) 1.255 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation 2.70213%, 32%, 65.3% agriculture: 17%


industry: 19%


services: 64% (2006)
Land boundaries 0 km 0 km
Land use arable land: 2.74%


permanent crops: 47.95%


other: 49.31% (2005)
arable land: 15.83%


permanent crops: 10.01%


other: 74.16% (2005)
Languages I-Kiribati, English (official) English, English patois
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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27
Life expectancy at birth total population: 62.08 years


male: 59.06 years


female: 65.24 years (2006 est.)
total population: 73.12 years


male: 71.43 years


female: 74.9 years (2007 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 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: 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: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2)


registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)
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 (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure NA -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA 0.6% (2006 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 (2006 est.) -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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; 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]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population 105,432 (July 2006 est.) 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 14.8% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.24% (2006 est.) 0.777% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1


note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002)
AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999) Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)
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: 1.034 male(s)/female


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


65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female


total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 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: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining


international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 4,500 (2002) 319,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 600 (2004) 2.804 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 4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) 10.2% (2007 est.)
Waterways 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) -
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.