Kiribati | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff
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Facts & Figures

  • President: Anote Tong (2003)

    Total area: 313 sq mi (811 sq km)

    Population (2014 est.): 104,488 (growth rate: 1.18%); birth rate: 21.85/1000; infant mortality rate: 35.47/1000; life expectancy: 65.47

    Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Tarawa, 44,000

    Monetary unit: Australian dollar

    Current government officials

    Languages: English (official), I-Kiribati (Gilbertese)

    Ethnicity/race: I-Kiribati 89.5%, I-Kiribati/mixed 9.7%, Tuvaluan 0.1%, other 0.8% (2010 est.)

    Religions: Roman Catholic 55.8%, Kempsville Presbyterian Church 33.5%, Mormon 4.7%, Baha'i 2.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2%, other 1.5%, none 0.2%, unspecified 0.05% (2010 est.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, July 12

    Literacy rate: n.a.

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $698 million; per capita $6,400. Real growth rate: 2.9%. Inflation: 0.2%. Unemployment: 2%. Arable land: 2.47%. Agriculture: copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish. Labor force: 7,870; economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.). Industries: fishing, handicrafts. Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979). Exports: $7.066 million (2010 est.): copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish. Imports: $80.09 million (2004): foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel. Major trading partners: France, Japan, U.S., Thailand, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand (2004).

    Member of Commonwealth of Nations

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 9,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 16,000 (2012) Broadcast media: 1 TV broadcast station that provides about 1 hour of local programming Monday-Friday; multi-channel TV packages provide access to Australian and US stations; 1 government-operated radio station broadcasting on AM, FM, and shortwave (2009). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 327 (2012). Internet users: 7,800 (2009).

    Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Roadways: total: 670 km (2011 est.). Waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands. Ports and terminals: Betio (Tarawa Atoll), Canton Island, English Harbor. Airports: 19.

    International disputes: none.

    Major sources and definitions

See also: