Kiribati (2008) | Aruba (2006) | |
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) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 20,886/female 20,322)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 31,083/female 31,884) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,554/female 2,088) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.5% (male 7,175/female 6,849)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 23,894/female 25,140) 65 years and over: 12.3% (male 3,616/female 5,217) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | aloes; livestock; fish |
Airports | 19 (2007) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
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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: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than 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. | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. |
Birth rate | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.03 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
revenues: $507.9 million
expenditures: $577.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
Capital | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Oranjestad
geographic coordinates: 12 33 N, 70 06 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 68.5 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 1 January 1986 |
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: Aruba |
Death rate | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $478.6 million (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | - | member country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
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 Aruba; the Consul General to Netherlands Antilles is accredited to Aruba |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Henry BAARH, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) | $-11.3 million (2004) |
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. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% 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. | Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the US. Construction continues to boom, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean. The newly re-elected government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.37 million kWh (2005) | 716.1 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 9 million kWh (2005) | 770 million kWh (2003) |
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 Jamanota 188 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001) |
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 17 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 63.7%, Nabuti MWEMWENIKARAWA 32.9% |
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30 October 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 2005 (next to be held by 2009) election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
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% (2006) | Netherlands 33.5%, Panama 16.7%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Netherlands Antilles 9% (2005) |
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 | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
agriculture: 0.4% NA%
industry: 33.3% NA% services: 66.3% NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2005) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 12 30 N, 69 58 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 | a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity |
Imports | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) | US 55.9%, Netherlands 12.9%, UK 3.8% (2005) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 46.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 5.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2005 est.) | 3.4% (2005) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Irrigated land | NA | 0.01 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Common Court of Justice of Aruba (judges are appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 41,500 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
arable land: 10.53%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.47% (2005) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish |
Legal system | NA | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 2005 (next to be held by in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 43%, AVP 32%, MPA 7%, RED 7%, PDR 6%, OLA 4%, PPA 2%; seats by party - MEP 11, AVP 8, MPA 1, RED 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.28 years
male: 75.95 years female: 82.78 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: NA
total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
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 (UTC +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, north of Venezuela |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,435 GRT/42,682 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Malaysia 1, Singapore 1, Turkey 1) (2007) |
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Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) (2007) | no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Netherlands Navy and Marines, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Flag Day, 18 March |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Aruban(s)
adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
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 | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | NEGL; white sandy beaches |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 |
Aliansa/Aruban Social Movement or MSA [Robert WEVER]; Aruban Liberal Organization or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Movement or MPA [Monica ARENDS-KOCK]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Mike EMAN]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; Real Democracy or PDR [Andin BIKKER]; RED [Rudy LAMPE]; Workers Political Platform or PTT [Gregorio WOLFF] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) | 71,891 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.235% (2007 est.) | 0.44% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) | AM 2, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999) | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.975 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.744 male(s)/female total population: 0.986 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 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: modern fully automatic telecommunications system
domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless service providers are now licensed international: country code - 297; 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 37,100 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2004) | 98,400 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
Total fertility rate | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 6.9% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) | - |