Kiribati

Republic of Kiribati
Kiribati (Gilbertese)
Motto: Te Mauri, te Raoi ao te Tabomoa
("Health, Peace and Prosperity")
Anthem: Kunan Kiribati
("Song of Kiribati")
Location of Kiribati
CapitalTarawa[1]
1°28′N 173°2′E / 1.467°N 173.033°E / 1.467; 173.033
Largest citySouth Tarawa
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2020 census)
Religion
(2020 census)
Demonym(s)I-Kiribati
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency
• President
Taneti Maamau
Teuea Toatu
LegislatureHouse of Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Granted
12 July 1979
20 September 1979
Area
• Total
811.19[3] km2 (313.20 sq mi) (172nd)
Population
• 2021[4] estimate
121,388 (192nd)
• Density
151.9/km2 (393.4/sq mi) (55th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $297 million
• Per capita
Increase $2,381[5]
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $248 million
• Per capita
Increase $1,989[5]
HDI (2022)Increase 0.628[6]
medium (137th)
CurrencyAustralian dollar ($)[7] (AUD)
Time zoneUTC+12, +13, +14
Driving sideleft
Calling code+686
ISO 3166 codeKI
Internet TLD.ki

Kiribati (/ˌkɪrɪˈbæs/ KIRR-ih-BASS),[8] officially the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese: [Ribaberiki] Kiribati),[9][10][11] is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island, Banaba. Its total land area is 811 km2 (313 sq mi)[12] dispersed over 3,441,810 km2 (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean.

The islands' spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching 150°W. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14. (For this reason, Kiribati is the only nation on Earth that is located simultaneously in all four hemispheres: northern, southern, western and eastern.)

Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign state in 1979. The capital, South Tarawa, now the most populated area, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways. These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll. Prior to its independence, the country had exported phosphate, but those mines are no longer viable. Fisheries and export of copra drive much of the economy. Kiribati is one of the least developed countries in the world and is highly dependent on international aid for its economy.

Kiribati is a member of the Pacific Community, Commonwealth of Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999.[13][14][15] As an island nation, the islands are vulnerable to climate change and tsunamis. Addressing climate change has been a central part of its international policy, as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States.

  1. ^ "About Kiribati – Kiribati For Travellers – Kiribati National Tourism Office".
  2. ^ a b Kiribati Census 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Kiribati profile – Facts". BBC. BBC. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Kiribati | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b "World Economic Outlook database: April 2023". April 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  6. ^ "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277.
  7. ^ Kiribati dollar is not the official currency.
  8. ^ "Kiribati". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 July 2010. "Kiribati: definition of Kiribati in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  9. ^ Kiribati. The World Factbook.
  10. ^ Publications Office — Interinstitutional style guide — Annex A5 — List of countries, territories and currencies. Europa (web portal). Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Kiribati profile – Facts". BBC. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Kiribati: 2011 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report, Informational Annexes, Debt Sustainability Analysis, Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion, and Statement by the Executive Director for Kiribati". International Monetary Fund Country Report No. 11/113. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  13. ^ In February 2021, Kiribati announced it would be withdrawing from the Pacific Islands Forum in a joint statement with Marshall Islands, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia after a dispute regarding Henry Puna's election as the forum's secretary-general.
  14. ^ "Five Micronesian countries leave Pacific Islands Forum". RNZ. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Pacific Islands Forum in crisis as one-third of member nations quit". The Guardian. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

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