Kiribati (2008) | New Caledonia (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) | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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: 30% (male 31,862; female 30,577)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 67,043; female 66,102) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,777; female 6,497) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 19 (2007) | 29 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (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: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. |
Birth rate | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 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) |
Noumea |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 2,254 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | - | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
Death rate | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) | $880 million annual subsidy from France |
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. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. Strikes in the building industry in 2001, which lasted four months, adversely affected many other sectors of the economy. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.37 million kWh (2005) | 1.455 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 9 million kWh (2005) | 1.565 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 78%
hydro: 22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 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 | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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) | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
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: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER was reelected |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $400 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
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) | Japan 25.8%, France 18.8%, Taiwan 12%, Australia 8.2%, US 3.0% (1999) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2005) | 2.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
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 | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 5 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) | $1 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice |
Imports - partners | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) | France 50.2%, Australia 15.1%, Singapore 5.9%, New Zealand 5.2%, Japan 3.7% (1999) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | nickel mining and smelting |
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.) |
8.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2005 est.) | 2.3% (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 | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) | 79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | NA | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.27 years
male: 70.32 years female: 76.36 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 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 | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | defense is the responsibility of France |
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; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $192.3 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 5.3% (FY96) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
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 | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 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; 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 |
Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Raphael MAPOU]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) | 207,858 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.235% (2007 est.) | 1.43% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 107,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km (2002) |
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 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 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 (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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2002) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2004) | 13,040 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.44 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) | none |