Oman (2007) | Kiribati (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi*, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar (Dhofar)* | 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: 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 20,342/female 19,806)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 29,362/female 30,136) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,477/female 1,969) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 137 (2007) | 20 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 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 smaller than Kansas | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. | 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 | 35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 30.86 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.07 billion
expenditures: $11.62 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Muscat
geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Tarawa |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.465 billion (2006 est.) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gary A. GRAPPO
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-643-400 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $30.68 million (2005) | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006 and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign labor, the government is encouraging the replacement of foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. | 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. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.661 billion kWh (2005) | 6.51 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 11.89 billion kWh (2005) | 7 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | 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, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
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; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | 733,100 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | China 23.6%, South Korea 17.9%, Japan 10.9%, Thailand 10.7%, South Africa 7.7%, UAE 6.3% (2006) | France 45.7%, Japan 29.2%, US 9.1%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical 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: 2.3%
industry: 39.1% services: 58.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.6% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | 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 | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | UAE 22.4%, Japan 16.5%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.3% (2006) | Australia 33.6%, Fiji 29.8%, Japan 10.3%, New Zealand 6.9%, France 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.9% (2006 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 48.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 720 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a law |
Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 920,000 (2002 est.) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2005) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla (or upper chamber) (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura (or lower chamber)(84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: NA |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.62 years
male: 71.37 years female: 75.99 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 61.71 years
male: 58.71 years female: 64.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 81.4% male: 86.8% female: 73.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | 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 (GMT +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 | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,155 GRT/7,244 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2006) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.4% (2005 est.) | NA |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | 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, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,072 km; oil 3,405 km (2006) | - |
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 [leader NA]; 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 | 3,204,897
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
103,092 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.234% (2007 est.) | 2.25% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Betio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.419 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.238 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat |
general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati; 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 | 278,300 (2006) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.818 million (2006) | 500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2004 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) |