Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Kiribati is made up of three distinct island groups -- the Gilbert Islands, the Line Islands, and the Phoenix Islands. The first Austronesian voyagers arrived in the Gilbert Islands as early as 3000 B.C., but these islands were not widely settled until about A.D. 200 by Micronesians. Around 1300, Samoans and Tongans invaded the southern Gilbert Islands, then known as Tungaru, bringing Polynesian cultural elements with them.
- Capital
- Tarawa
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 116,545
- Area
- 811 sq km
- Location
- Oceania, group of 32 coral atolls and one raised coral island in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator;
- Climate
- tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
- Natural resources
- phosphate (production discontinued in 1979); coconuts (copra); fish
- Languages
- Gilbertese; English (official)
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 58.9%; Kiribati Uniting Church 21.2%; Kiribati Protestant Church 8.4%; Church of Jesus Christ 5.6%…
- Independence
- 12 July 1979 (from the UK)
- Administrative divisions
- 3 geographical units: Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands;
- Currency
- Australian dollars (AUD)
- Export partners
- Thailand 85%; Japan 6%; Philippines 3%; UAE 2%…
- Import partners
- China 24%; Australia 20%; Fiji 15%; Japan 7%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain