Compare Pacific Ocean (2007) - Kiribati (2007)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2007) z Kiribati (2007)

	Pacific Ocean (2007)	Kiribati (2007)

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)
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.)
Agriculture - products	-	copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish
Airports	-	19 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	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: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies	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 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	four times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.	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	-	30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $55.52 million expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05)
Capital	-	name: Tarawa geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December	tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	135,663 km	1,143 km
Constitution	-	12 July 1979
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
Death rate	-	8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$10 million (1999 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005)
Economy - overview	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.	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	-	8.37 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	9 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	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	-	Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)
Exchange rates	-	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: 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 bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, 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)
Fiscal year	-	NA
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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 8.9% industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004)
GDP - real growth rate	-	0.3% (2005)
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 160 00 W	1 25 N, 173 00 E
Geography - note	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean	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	-	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
Imports - partners	-	Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006)
Independence	-	12 July 1979 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	0.7% (1991 est.)
Industries	-	fishing, handicrafts
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	0.5% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	-	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	-	NA
Judicial branch	-	Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president
Labor force	-	7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 2.7% industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000)
Land boundaries	-	0 km
Land use	-	arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005)
Languages	-	I-Kiribati, English (official)
Legal system	-	NA
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)
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 62.45 years male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Location	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	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	Political Map of the World	Oceania
Maritime claims	-	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	-	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	-	Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Nationality	-	noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Natural hazards	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December	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	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	-	107,817 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	2.235% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002)
Religions	-	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: 1.028 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
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)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	4,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	600 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (possibly inactive) (2002)
Terrain	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest	mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Total fertility rate	-	4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Transportation - note	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)	-
Unemployment rate	-	2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Waterways	-	5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007)

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