Libya (2005) | Kiribati (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands,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) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.9% (male 997,364/female 955,272)
15-64 years: 62% (male 1,842,775/female 1,729,235) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 117,967/female 122,950) (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 139 (2004 est.) | 19 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 59
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 80
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. | 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. |
Birth rate | 26.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.52 billion
expenditures: $12.23 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
Capital | Tripoli | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
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 |
Death rate | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.069 billion (2004 est.) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980, resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004 | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $4.4 million ODA (2002) | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) |
Economy - overview | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 19.43 billion kWh (2002) | 8.37 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 20.89 billion kWh (2002) | 9 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001), 0.5122 (2000) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
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% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Italy 37%, Germany 16.6%, Spain 11.9%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.2% (2004) | 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) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 45.7% services: 45.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products (1999) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Italy 25.5%, Germany 11%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.4%, Tunisia 4.7%, Turkey 4.6% (2004) | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2004 est.) | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO | ACP, AsDB, 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 |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 1.59 million (2004 est.) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2001) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | 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) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.5 years
male: 74.29 years female: 78.82 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | 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 |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
by type: cargo 7, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Algeria 1) (2005) |
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) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99) | NA |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | 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 |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence | NA |
Population | 5,765,563
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
107,817 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.33% (2005 est.) | 2.235% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | As Sidrah, Az Zuwaytinah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf, Tripoli, Zawiyah | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) |
Railways | 0 km
note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2004) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 750,000 (2003) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 100,000 (2003) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 3.34 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2004) | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) |