Kiribati
Republic of Kiribati | | | Motto
Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa
(English: Health, Peace and Prosperity) | Anthem
Teirake Kaini Kiribati
| | | Capital
(and largest city) | South Tarawa
1°28′N, 173°2′E | | Official languages | English, Gilbertese | | Demonym | I-Kiribati | | Government | Republic | | - | President | Anote Tong | | Independence | | - | from UK | 12 July 1979 | | Area | | - | Total | 726 km² (186th)
280 sq mi | | - | Water (%) | 0 | | Population | | - | July 2005 estimate | 85,O00 According to the UN, 2005 (197th) | | - | 2000 census | 84,494 | | - | Density | 137 /km² (73rd)
355 /sq mi | | GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | | - | Total | $206 million1 (213th) | | - | Per capita | $2,358 (136th) | | HDI (2006) | n/a (unranked) (n/a) | | Currency | Kiribati dollar
Australian dollar (AUD) | | Time zone | (UTC+12, +13, +14) | | Internet TLD | .ki | | Calling code | +686 | | 1 Supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources. | Kiribati (IPA: [ˈkiribæs] or kee-ree-bas) in Gilbertese, sometimes incorrectly pronounced [ˌkɪrəˈbɑti] in English), officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It comprises 33 atolls dispersed over 1,351,000 square miles (3,500,000 km²) straddling the equator and borders the International Date Line to the east. The name Kiribati is the local variant of "Gilberts", derived from Kiribati's pre-independence name, the Gilbert Islands. Image File history File links Flag_of_Kiribati. ...
Image File history File links Kiribati_COA.svg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kiribati Politics of Kiribati Foreign relations of Kiribati List of political parties in Kiribati Gallery of sovereign state coats of arms Districts of...
Flag ratio: 1:2 The Flag of Kiribati: the upper half is red with a gold frigatebird (Fregata minor, in Gilbertese: te eitei) flying over a gold rising sun (otintaai), and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean and the 3 groups...
Coat of arms of Kiribati The coat of arms of Kiribati shows a yellow frigatebird over a rising sun on a red background among white and blue stripes (symbol of the Pacific). ...
A motto (from Italian) is a phrase or a short list of words meant formally to describe the general motivation or intention of an entity, social group, or organization. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogising the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognised either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ...
Teirake Kaini Kiribati or Stand up, Kiribati is the national anthem of Kiribati. ...
Location map for Kiribati File links The following pages link to this file: Kiribati User:DanielZm/test Template:Kiribati infobox Categories: Free use images | GFDL images | Country locator maps | Kiribati ...
Not to be confused with capitol. ...
This article describes the demographics of the Republic of Kiribati. ...
South Tarawa (in Gilbertese and English: Teinainano Urban Council or abr. ...
An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Gilbertese or Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese, a mixture of both) is a language from the Austronesian family, part of the Oceanian branch and of the Nuclear Micronesian subbranch. ...
A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. ...
Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
List of Presidents of Kiribati (beretitenti) Categories: | ...
Anote Tong (in Chinese, 湯安諾; pinyin: TÄng Ä€nnuò — his family name is of Chinese origin but it is now considered as Gilbertese by Kiribati people) (born 1952) is the president of Kiribati. ...
is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...
Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. ...
To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km² and 10,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ...
This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ...
A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...
Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ...
A percentage is a way of expressing a proportion, a ratio or a fraction as a whole number, by using 100 as the denominator. ...
This is a list of countries ordered according to population. ...
Population density by country, 2006 Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. ...
Population density by country, 2006 List of countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants/km². The list includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations. ...
Gross domestic product (by purchasing power parity) in 2006 The Purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. ...
There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ...
Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ...
Map of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita for the year 2006. ...
World map indicating Human Development Index (2006). ...
Coloured world map indicating Human Development Index (2006) (colour-blind compliant map) This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Programmes Human Development Report 2006, compiled on the basis of 2004 data. ...
This is not an independant currency but is peges at 1:1 ratio to the Australian dollar. ...
ISO 4217 Code AUD User(s) Australia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island Inflation 2. ...
ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ...
Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ...
“UTC†redirects here. ...
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ...
.ki is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Kiribati. ...
A telephone number is a sequence of decimal digits (0-9) that is used for identifying a destination telephone line in a telephone network. ...
Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...
Gilbertese or Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese, a mixture of both) is a language from the Austronesian family, part of the Oceanian branch and of the Nuclear Micronesian subbranch. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or islands. ...
The Republic of Kiribati consists of 32 atolls, one raised coral island, and many other reefs. ...
A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...
World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and PrÃncipe. ...
The International Date Line around 180° This article is about the line dividing time zones; see Dateline (disambiguation) for other meanings, including the television program. ...
It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
[edit] History -
Kiribati was inhabited by a single Micronesian ethnic group that spoke the same Oceanic language for 2,000 years before coming into contact with Europeans. The islands were first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by a Russian admiral, Adam von Krusenstern, and French captain Louis Duperrey, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788. The I-Kiribati people (or Gilbertese) settled what would become known as the Gilbert Islands (named by von Krusenstern, an Estonian admiral of the Czar, in 1820, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert) between 3000 and 2000 years ago. ...
The Oceanic languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, containing approximately 450 languages. ...
It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
Ivan Kruzenstern Adam Johann Ritter von (knight of) Krusenstern (born November 19, 1770 in Hagudi, close to Rapla, in the Russian province of Estonia, died August 24, 1846 in Reval, now Tallinn, Estonia) was the Baltic German admiral and explorer in Russian Service who in 1803-1806 led the first...
Louis Isidore Duperrey (1786 - 1865) was a French sailor and explorer. ...
The first British settlers arrived in 1837. In 1892, the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate together with the nearby Ellice Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown colony in 1916. Kiritimati (Christmas Island) became a part of the colony in 1919 and the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937. It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
Tuvalu is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. ...
For the island in the Indian Ocean, see Christmas Island. ...
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. ...
Tarawa Atoll and others of the Gilbert group were occupied by Japan during World War II. Tarawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history when Marines landed in Nov. 1943, the Battle of Tarawa was fought at Kiribati's former capital Betio on Tarawa Atoll. Map of the Tarawa atoll Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. ...
Combatants United States Japan Commanders Holland Smith Keiji Shibasaki †Strength 35,000 troops 3,000 troops, 1,000 Japanese and 1,200 Korean laborers Casualties 1,001 killed 4,713 killed 17 Japanese and 129 Koreans captured Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Makin Raid – Tarawa – Makin – Kwajalein – Truk – Eniwetok The...
The Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands gained self-rule in 1971, and were separated in 1975 and granted internal self-government by Britain. In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu, and Kiribati's independence followed on July 12, 1979. In a treaty signed shortly after independence and ratified in 1983, the United States relinquished all claims (previously asserted under the Guano Act) to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix Islands and those of the Line Islands that are part of Kiribati territory. It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
Tuvalu is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. ...
is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...
The Guano Islands Act was federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress on August 18, 1856 enabling citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. ...
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
Overcrowding has been a problem, and in 1988 it was announced that 4,700 residents of the main island group would be resettled onto less populated islands. In 1994, Teburoro Tito was elected president. Kiribati's 1995 act of moving the international date line far to the east to encompass Kiribati's Line Islands group, so that it would no longer be divided by the date line, courted controversy. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises, was intended to allow businesses all across the expansive nation to keep the same business week. This also enabled Kiribati to become the first country to see the dawn of the third millennium AD, an event of significance for tourism. Tito was reelected in 1998. In 1999, Kiribati gained UN membership. Map of countries by population —showing the population of the China and India in the billions. ...
Teburoro Tito (modern spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 1953) was the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from October 1, 1994 to March 28, 2003. ...
The International Date Line around 180° This article is about the line dividing time zones; see Dateline (disambiguation) for other meanings, including the television program. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
A millennium (pl. ...
The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...
In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law enabling the government to shut down newspapers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful nongovernment-run newspaper. President Tito was reelected in 2003, but in March 2003, he was removed from office by a no-confidence vote, and replaced by a Council of State. Anote Tong of the opposition party, Boutokaan Te Koaua, was elected to succeed Tito in July 2003. Anote Tong (in Chinese, 湯安諾; pinyin: TÄng Ä€nnuò — his family name is of Chinese origin but it is now considered as Gilbertese by Kiribati people) (born 1952) is the president of Kiribati. ...
Some of the islands of Kiribati especially in the remote Line Islands, were formerly used by the United States and Great Britain for atomic bomb testing. According to Kiribati: A People's History, Kiribati was the testing sites for many of the new H-Bombs in the 1960's. The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...
[edit] Politics -
The Kiribati Constitution, promulgated July 12, 1979, provides for free and open elections. The executive branch consists of a president (te Beretitenti), a vice president and a cabinet (the president is also chief of the cabinet and has to be MP). Under the constitution, the president, nominated from among the elected legislators, is limited to three four-year terms. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice president, and 10 ministers (appointed by the president) who are members of the House of Assembly. The constitution promulgated at independence on July 12, 1979, establishes Kiribati as a sovereign democratic republic and guarantees the fundamental rights of its citizens. ...
is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...
The legislative branch is the unicameral "Maneaba Ni Maungatabu" (House of Assembly). It has elected members, including by constitutional mandate a representative of the Banaban people in Fiji (Rabi Island, former Ocean Islanders), in addition to the attorney general, who serves as an ex-officio member. Legislators serve for a four-year term.
The constitutional provisions governing administration of justice are similar to those in other former British possessions in that the judiciary is free from governmental interference. The judicial branch is made up of the High Court (in Betio) and the Court of Appeal. The president appoints the presiding judges.
Local government is through island councils with elected members. Local affairs are handled in a manner similar to town meetings in colonial America. Island councils make their own estimates of revenue and expenditure and are generally free from central government controls.
Kiribati has formal political parties but their organization is quite informal. Ad hoc opposition groups tends to coalesce around specific issues. Today, the only recognizable parties are the Maneaban te Mauri Party and the National Progressive Party. There is universal suffrage at age 18.[1]
[edit] Administrative divisions -
Kiribati was formally divided into districts until its independence. The country is now divided into three island groups which have no administrative function, including a group that unites the Line and the Phoenix islands (ministry at London, Christmas). Each inhabited island has its own council (3 councils on Tarawa: Betio, South-Tarawa, North-Tarawa; 2 councils on Tabiteuea). The original districts used to be: In Kiribati, there are 3 units: Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, and Phoenix Islands. ...
Map of Betio from WWII Betio is an island at the extreme southwest of South Tarawa. ...
Tabiteuea is the collective name for two neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean, Tabiteuea North and Tabiteuea South. ...
The island groups include: Satellite imagery of Banaba Island from Google Earth. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Gilbert Islands. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
The northern Gilberts (mweang) geographically and traditionally encompass Makin, Butaritari, Marakei, Abaiang (literally northland) and Tarawa. ...
Map of the Tarawa atoll Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. ...
Four of the former districts (including Tarawa) lie in the Gilbert Islands, where most of the country's population lives. Only three of the Line Islands are inhabited. The Phoenix Islands are uninhabited except for Kanton, and have no representation. Banaba itself is sparsely inhabited now. There is also a non-elected representative of the Banabans on Rabi Island in the nation of Fiji. Each of the 21 inhabited islands has a local council that takes care of the daily affairs. Tarawa Atoll has three councils: Betio Town Council, Te Inainano Urban Council (for the rest of South Tarawa) and Eutan Tarawa Council (for North Tarawa). It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. ...
Canton Island - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image Kanton Island (also known as Canton Island or Abariringa Island), alternatively Mary Island, Mary Balcout Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, most northern, and, as of 2005, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati. ...
Rabi (IPA: []) is a volcanic island in northern Fiji. ...
Map of the Tarawa atoll Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. ...
South Tarawa (in Gilbertese and English: Teinainano Urban Council or abr. ...
[edit] Foreign relations
[edit] General relations Kiribati was admitted as the 186th member of the United Nations in September 1999. The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...
[edit] Regional relations Kiribati maintains cordial relations with most countries and has close relations with its Pacific neighbors, Japan, Australia and New Zealand; the latter three provide the majority of the country's foreign aid. Taiwan and Japan also have specified-period licenses to fish in Kiribati's waters.
In November 1999, it was announced that Japan's National Space Development Agency planned to lease land on Kiritimati (Christmas Island) for 20 years on which to build a spaceport. The agreement stipulated that Japan was to pay $840,000 (US Dollars) per year and would also pay for any damage to roads and the environment. A Japanese-built downrange tracking station operates on Kiritimati,[1] and an abandoned airfield on the island was designated as the landing strip for a proposed reusable unmanned space shuttle called HOPE-X. HOPE-X was eventually canceled by Japan in 2003, however. This article has been nominated as a possible Japanese Collaboration of the Week. ...
For the island in the Indian Ocean, see Christmas Island. ...
A spaceport is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with airport for aircraft. ...
An earth station or ground station is the surface-based (terrestrial) end of a communications link to an object in outer space. ...
HOPE = H-II Orbiting Plane HOPE-X = HOPE-Experimental A joint venture between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s as part of the Japanese contribution to the International Space Station, was cancelled in 2003. ...
[edit] The politics of the environment . In 2002, the major international issues facing many Pacific island states involved environmental challenges -- a consequence of global warming, according to several scientific studies. In this regard, Kiribati, like other islands in the Pacific, will launch legal action against developed countries at international venues, such as the International Court of Justice, for polluting practices which make them most liable for global warming. Most Pacific island countries may be washed away in the future, as a consequence of global warming and the resulting rise in sea level. Meanwhile, they suffer from biodiversity depletion and a lack of freshwater sources. These serious challenges are also linked to global warming. The refusal of the United States and Australia to sign the Kyoto Protocol raises the level of alarm in the Pacific region. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected...
The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; French: ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. ...
Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ...
For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ...
Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ...
[edit] Geography -
Kiribati consists of about 32 atolls and one island (Banaba), with at least three in each hemisphere. The groups of islands are: Map of Kiribati from [1]. File links The following pages link to this file: Kiribati Geography of Kiribati Battle of Tarawa Categories: CIA World Factbook images ...
Map of Kiribati from [1]. File links The following pages link to this file: Kiribati Geography of Kiribati Battle of Tarawa Categories: CIA World Factbook images ...
This article describes the geography of Kiribati. ...
- Banaba: an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands.
- Gilbert Islands: 16 atolls located some 930 miles (1,500 km) north of Fiji
- Phoenix Islands: 8 atolls and coral islands located some 1,100 miles (1,800 km) southeast of the Gilberts
- Line Islands: 8 atolls and one reef, located about 2,050 miles (3,300 km) east of the Gilberts.
Banaba (or Ocean Island) is a raised-coral island that was once a rich source of phosphates, but it was mostly mined out before independence. The rest of the land in Kiribati consists of the sand and reef rock islets of atolls or coral islands that rise but a few meters (at most 6.5 feet) above sea level. The soil is thin and calcareous, making agriculture very difficult. Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Line Islands is the world's largest atoll. Based on a 1995 realignment of the International Date Line, Kiribati is now the easternmost country in the world, and was the first country to enter into the year 2000 at Caroline Island, which, not coincidentally, has been renamed Millennium Island.[2] Satellite imagery of Banaba Island from Google Earth. ...
It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
“Miles†redirects here. ...
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls, plus two submerged coral reefs in the central Pacific Ocean, east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. ...
The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...
Portion of a Pacific atoll showing two islets on the ribbon or barrier reef separated by a deep pass between the ocean and the lagoon. ...
Calcareous formed from or containing a high proportion of Calcium carbonate. ...
For the island in the Indian Ocean, see Christmas Island. ...
The International Date Line around 180° This article is about the line dividing time zones; see Dateline (disambiguation) for other meanings, including the television program. ...
Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...
NASA orbital photo of Caroline Island. ...
Caroline Island should not be confused with the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific. ...
According to the South Pacific Regional Environment Program, two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater in 1999. The islet of Tepuka Savilivili (Tuvalu; not a Gilbertese name) no longer has any coconut trees due to salination. [2] The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise by about half a meter (20 in) by 2100 due to global warming and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased soil salination and will be largely submerged.[3] Gilbertese or Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese, a mixture of both) is a language from the Austronesian family, part of the Oceanian branch and of the Nuclear Micronesian subbranch. ...
The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...
IPCC is the science authority for the UNFCCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to evaluate the risk of climate change brought on by humans, based mainly on...
An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...
Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected...
Visible salt deposits on the former bed of the Aral Sea Soil salination is the accumulation of free salts to such an extent that it leads to degradation of soils and vegetation. ...
[edit] Economy
 Some of the Kiribati islands in the Gilbert group. -
Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Download high resolution version (900x1200, 370 KB)Kiribati Islands, Pacific Ocean December 20, 2003, 02:00 UTC larger version here Image Courtesy: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response System File links The following pages link to this file: Kiribati Geography of Kiribati Categories: NASA images ...
Download high resolution version (900x1200, 370 KB)Kiribati Islands, Pacific Ocean December 20, 2003, 02:00 UTC larger version here Image Courtesy: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response System File links The following pages link to this file: Kiribati Geography of Kiribati Categories: NASA images ...
Kiribatis per capita GNP of less than $1,000 makes it one of the poorest countries in the world. ...
Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic hydrogenphosphate anion (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ...
Copra drying in the sun Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ...
“Tourist†redirects here. ...
Foreign financial aid, largely from the United Kingdom and Japan, is a critical supplement, equal in recent years to 25% to 50% of GDP. Agriculture accounts for 12.4% of GDP and 71% of labour; industry 0.9% of GDP and 1.9% of labour; trade 18.5% of GDP and 4.1% of labour; commercial trade 5.7% of GDP and 1.4% of labour; and service industries 5.7% of GDP and 1.4% of labour. The main export and import countries are Australia, USA, France, Japan, Hong Kong and Germany.
[edit] Balance of payments Kiribati's narrow export base and its enormous need for imports contribute to the country’s large deficit in the merchandise trade balance. However, the country has several sources of external income, including fishing license fees, investment income, seamen’s remittances, and external grants. These inflows are usually more than sufficient to finance the large trade deficit. As a result, Kiribati’s current account balance has been in surplus most of the time in the past decade. International reserves have remained at around US$300 million since 2001. A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ...
Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ...
Remittance advertising in Oxford Street, London with Russian slogans. ...
Grants are funds given to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations or local governments by foundations, corporations, governments, small business and individuals. ...
A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ...
[edit] Demographics -
The native people of Kiribati are called "i-Kiribati." The word "Kiribati" is the local spelling of the word "Gilbert" and the original name of this British colony was the Gilbert Islands. In 1979 when independence was gained, the indigenous format of the name was adopted. This article describes the demographics of the Republic of Kiribati. ...
It has been suggested that Central Gilberts be merged into this article or section. ...
Ethnically, the i-Kiribati are Micronesians, but recent archeological evidence indicates that Austronesians originally settled the islands thousands of years ago. Around the 14th century, Fijians and Tongans invaded the islands thus complicating the ethnic range, and there are also people of Polynesian ancestry further diversifying the ethnic typologies. Intermarriage among all ancestral groups, however, has led to a population reasonably homogeneous in appearance and traditions. Austronesian can refer to: The Austronesian people The Austronesian languages Austronesia, refers to the homeland of the people who speak Austronesian languages. ...
Polynesian is an adjectival form which refers variously to: Polynesian pie Polynesian sauce, a food condiment available at Chick-fil-A the aboriginal inhabitants of Polynesia, and their: Polynesian culture Polynesian mythology Polynesian languages Category: ...
Look up Homogeneous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The people of Kiribati speak a Micronesian dialect called Gilbertese, although English is the official language. English is not used very often outside the island capital of Tarawa. It is more likely that English is mixed in its use with Gilbertese. Older generations of I-Kiribati tend to use more complicated versions of the language. Gilbertese or Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese, a mixture of both) is a language from the Austronesian family, part of the Oceanian branch and of the Nuclear Micronesian subbranch. ...
An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ...
Christianity is the major religion, having been introduced by missionaries in the 19th century. The population is predominantly Roman Catholic, although a substantial portion of the population is Congregationalist Protestant. Many other Protestant denominations, including more evangelical types, are also represented, and the Baha'i religion also exists in Kiribati, along with Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the latter numbering about 12,000. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is...
A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ...
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation indepedently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ...
Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: The word evangelicalism often refers to...
Known in India as the Lotus Temple, the Bahai House of Worship attracts an average of three and a half million visitors a year. ...
[edit] Human rights Kiribati is a constitutional multiparty republic. The government of Kiribati works to respect the civil and human rights of its citizens. There are only a few areas in which problems remain, but the law provides effective means of addressing individual complaints [citation needed]. Some limits on the freedoms of press and speech, and a few incidences of extrajudicial communal justice have been reported. Overall, Kiribati has one of the more positive records of human rights in the world. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ...
Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...
Extrajudicial execution and extrajudicial punishment are terms to describe death sentences and other types of punishment, respectively, executed without prior proper judicial procedure. ...
Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...
[edit] Human development The population of Kiribati has a life expectancy at birth of 60 years (57 for males, and 63 for females) and an infant mortality rate of 54 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The people of Kiribati mostly live in villages with populations between 50 and 3,000 on the outer islands. Most houses are made of materials obtained from coconut and pandanus trees. Frequent droughts hinder reliable large-scale agriculture, so the islanders have largely turned to the sea for livelihood and subsistence. Most are outrigger sailors and fishers. Copra plantations serve as a second source of employment. In recent years, large numbers of citizens have moved to the more urban island capital of Tarawa.
To increase opportunities for the islanders, the government has placed greater emphasis on education. Primary education is free and compulsory for the first six years, now being extended to nine years. Mission schools are slowly being absorbed into the government primary school system. Higher education is expanding; students may seek technical, teacher or marine training, or study in other countries. To date, most choosing to do the latter have gone to Fiji.
[edit] Culture -
Songs (te anene) and above all dances (te mwaie) are held in high regard. Kiribati combat arts Kiribati has a history of contrived and ritualized duels. ...
Kiribati folk music is generally based around chanting or other forms of vocalizing, accompanied by body percussion. Public performances in modern Kiribati are generally performed by a seated chorus, accompanied by a guitar. However, during formal performances of the standing dance (Te Kaimatoa) or the hip dance (Te Buki) a wooden box is used as a percussion instrument. This box is constructed so as to give a hollow and reverberating tone when struck simultaneously by a chorus of men sitting around it. Traditional songs are often love-themed, but there are also competitive, religious, children's, patriotic, war and wedding songs [citation needed]. There are also stick dances (which accompany legends and semi-historical stories [citation needed]. These stick dances or 'tirere' (pronounced seerere) are only performed during major festivals. A chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, either on a single pitch or with a simple notes and often including a great deal of repetition or statis. ...
Body Percussion is the art of creating percussive sounds using body movements and body parts exclusively. ...
- See also: Music of Kiribati
Kiribati is a Micronesian country in the Pacific Ocean. ...
The uniqueness of Kiribati when compared with other forms of pacific island dance is its emphasis on the outstretched arms of the dancer and the sudden birdlike movement of the head. The Frigate bird (Fregata minor) on the Kiribati flag refers to this bird-like style of Kiribati dancing. Most dances are in the standing or sitting position with movement limited and staggered. Smiling whilst dancing is generally considered vulgar within the context of Kiribati dancing. This is due to its origin of not being solely as a form of entertainment but as a form of storytelling and a display of the skill, beauty and endurance of the dancer.[3] - See also: Dance in Kiribati
The island nation of Kiribati has styles of dance unique to it. ...
[edit] Outside perspectives Arthur Grimble wrote about his time working in the British colonial service in Kiribati (then the Gilbert Islands) in the early 20th century in two popular books A Pattern of Islands (1952) and Return to the Islands (1957). He also undertook academic studies of Gilbertese culture. Sir Arthur Francis Grimble [1888-1956], British Civil Servant and writer. ...
J. Maarten Troost's more recent autobiographical experiences on the Tarawa Atoll are documented in his book The Sex Lives of Cannibals (2004). Map of the Tarawa atoll Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. ...
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific is a 2004 travelogue by author J. Maarten Troost describing the two years he and his girlfriend spent living on the Tarawa atoll in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. ...
[edit] Miscellaneous topics Kiribati has two international airports (Tarawa and Kiritimati). ...
Kiribati maintains good relations with most countries and has particularly close ties to its Pacific neighbors--Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. ...
Military branches: 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: NA% Military - note: Kiribati does not have military forces. ...
2 small airplanes fly out the Gilbert Islands, except for Banaba. ...
In West Berlin, boys are sometimes born with the name Bonnie Jean. ...
The Republic of Kiribati consists of 32 atolls, one raised coral island, and many other reefs. ...
[edit] References Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson (November 13, 1850–December 3, 1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. ...
The Montana New Zealand Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. ...
[edit] External links | Countries and territories of Oceania |
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This is an alphabetical list of Oceanian countries and dependencies. ...
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