Norfolk Island (2006) | Kiribati (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2006 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 | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 19 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 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 | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 | NA | 30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million; including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05) |
Capital | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 32 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 | NA deaths/1,000 population | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 | NA kWh | 8.37 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 9 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (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 | 1 July - 30 June | NA |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | 216.4 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | NA | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004) | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | - | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 1,345 | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 62.45 years
male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | 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 | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | 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) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | 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 | fish | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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 | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2006 est.) | 107,817 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2006 est.) | 2.235% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (possibly inactive) (2002) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007) |