Kiribati (2008) | Netherlands Antilles (2001) | |
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)
note: each island has its own government |
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:
25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169) 15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 19 (2007) | 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (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:
960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | more than five 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. | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe. |
Birth rate | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
revenues:
$710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Willemstad |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 364 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
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: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Currency | - | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
Death rate | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $1.35 billion (1996) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; 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 | chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
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) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) | IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million |
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, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined slightly in each of the past five years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.37 million kWh (2005) | 1.032 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 9 million kWh (2005) | 1.11 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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 Scenery 862 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989) |
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 Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA) note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $276 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | petroleum products |
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) | US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998) |
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 | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2005) | -3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 12 15 N, 68 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 | - |
Highways | - | total:
600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) | $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) | Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998) |
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 (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
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.) |
11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2005 est.) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
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 | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 |
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 | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 89,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, 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 States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
74.94 years male: 72.76 years female: 77.22 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 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 (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, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone:
12 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) |
total:
123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,113,774 GRT/1,397,841 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 35, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 19, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 8, Germany 1, Italy 1 (2000 est.) |
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) | Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
54,284 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
30,405 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,610 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun:
Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean |
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 | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 |
Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi]; Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT]
note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) | 212,226 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.235% (2007 est.) | 0.97% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) | AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 217,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
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, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 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:
generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 76,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2004) | 13,977 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) | 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 14.9% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) | none |