Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The World Factbook''.
Europa (web portal). Retrieved 29 January 2016. is an

island country An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

in the central

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. The permanent population is over 119,000 (2020), more than half of whom live on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

32 atolls and one remote raised coral island,

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...

. There is a total land area of dispersed over of

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

. Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching the 150° W meridian. 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 UTC+14:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +14:00. This is the earliest time zone on Earth, meaning that areas in this zone are the first to see a new day, and therefore the first to celebrate a New Year. It is also referred to as t ...

. Kiribati is the only country in the world to be situated in all four cardinal hemispheres. Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

in 1979. The capital,

South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonrik ...

, 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 Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
'' phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

; however, those mines are no longer viable with fisheries and export of

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

driving 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 The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, ...

(SPC),

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

, the IMF, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, the OACPS and became a full member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in 1999 As an island nation, the islands are very vulnerable to climate change and addressing climate change has been a central part of its international policy, as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States.

Etymology and pronunciation

The name is pronounced ; ''Kiribass'' as ''-ti'' in the Gilbertese language represents an '' s'' sound and its people, the I-Kiribati, as ''e-Kiribassi'' FMIB 53006 Gilbert or Kingsmill Islands

The name ''Kiribati'' was adopted in 1979 at independence. It is the

Gilbertese Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

rendition of ''Gilberts'', the plural of the English name of the nation's main archipelago, the '' Gilbert Islands''. It was named ''îles Gilbert'' (French for ''Gilbert Islands'') in about 1820 by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey, after the British captain Thomas Gilbert. Gilbert and captain John Marshall sighted some of the islands in 1788, while crossing the "outer passage" route from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

to Canton. Both von Krusenstern's and Duperrey's maps, published in 1824, were written in French. In French, the Northern Islands were until then called ''îles Mulgrave'' and Byron Island was not part of them. In English, the archipelago, particularly the southern part, was often referred to as the Kingsmills in the 19th century, although the name Gilbert Islands was used increasingly, including in the Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877 and in the Pacific Order of 1893. The name Gilbert, already in the name of the British protectorate since 1892, was incorporated into the name of the entire Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC) from 1916 and was retained after the Ellice Islands became the separate nation of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

in 1976. The spelling of ''Gilberts'' in the Gilbertese language as ''Kiribati'' may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by missionaries, but with the meaning of Gilbertese ( demonym and language) (see e.g., Hawaiian Board of Missionaries, 1895). The first mention as a dictionary entry of the word ''Kiribati'' as the native name of the country was written down in 1952 by in his comprehensive ''Dictionnaire gilbertin-français''. It is often suggested that the indigenous name for the Gilbert Islands proper is ''Tungaru'' (see e.g., , 1952–1953, or

Arthur Grimble Sir Arthur Francis Grimble, (Hong Kong, 11 June 1888 – London, 13 December 1956) was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer. Biography Grimble was educated at Chigwell School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then wen ...

, 1989). However, the rendition Kiribati for Gilberts was chosen as the official name of the new independent nation by the Chief Minister, Sir

Ieremia Tabai Ieremia Tienang Tabai (modern spelling: Tabwai; born 16 December 1949) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the first Beretitenti President of the Republic of Kiribati, after being the youngest ever Chief minister of the Commonwealth of ...

and his Cabinet, on such grounds that it was modern, and to comprehend the inclusion of outer islands (e.g., the Phoenix Group and Line Islands), which were not considered part of the Tungaru (or Gilberts) chain.

History

Tabiteuean warriors of the Gilberts Islands, about 1840

Early history

The area now called Kiribati, mainly the 16 Gilbert Islands, has been inhabited by

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

speaking the same

Oceanic language The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...

, from North to South, including the southernmost Nui, since sometime between 3000 BCMacdonald, Barrie (2001) ''Cinderellas of the Empire: towards a history of Kiribati and Tuvalu'', Institute of Pacific Studies,

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...

, Suva, Fiji, , p. 1 and AD 1300. The area was not completely isolated; later, voyagers from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, and Fiji introduced some

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n and

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

n cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage and intense navigation between the islands tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenization Local oral historians chiefly in the form of lore keepers suggest that the area was first inhabited by a group of seafaring people from

, who were described as being dark-skinned frizzy-haired and short in stature. These

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

were then visited by early Austronesian seafarers from the west, a place called ''Matang'', orally described as being tall and fair-skinned. Eventually, both groups intermittently clashed and intermingled until they slowly became a uniform population. Around 1300 A.D, there was a mass exodus from

at the same time that cannibalism was forcefully abolished there, leading to the addition of Polynesian ancestry into the mix of most Gilbertese people. These Samoans would later bring strong features of

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austro ...

and culture, creating clans based on their own Samoan traditions and slowly intertwining with the indigenous clans and powers already dominant in Kiribati. Around the 15th century, starkly contrasting systems of governance arose between the Northern Islands, primarily under chiefly rule (''uea''), and the Central and Southern Islands, primarily under the rule of their council of elders (''unimwaane''). Tabiteuea could be an exception as the sole island that is known as maintaining a traditional

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

society. The name Tabiteuea stems from the root phrase Tabu-te-Uea meaning "chiefs are forbidden". Civil war soon became a factor, with acquisition of land being the main form of conquest. Clans and chiefs began fighting over resources, fuelled by hatred and reignited blood feuds, which may have started months, years, or even decades before. The turmoil lasted well into the European visitation and colonial era, which led to certain islands decimating their foes with the help of guns and cannon-equipped ships that some Europeans were coerced into using by the more cunning and persuasive among the I-Kiribati leaders. The typical military arms of the I-Kiribati at this time were shark-tooth-embedded wooden spears, knives and swords, and garbs of armour fashioned from dense coconut fibre. They chiefly used these instead of the gunpowder and weapons of steel available at the time, because of the strong sentimental value of the equipment handed down through generations. Ranged weapons, such as bows, slings and javelins, were seldom used; hand-to-hand combat was a prominent skill still practised today, though seldom mentioned because of various taboos associated with it, secrecy being the primary one.

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part o ...

's High Chief

Tembinok' Tembinok', or Tem Binoka, (reigned 1878 – 10 November 1891) was the ''Uea'' (High Chief) of Abemama, Aranuka and Kuria, in the Gilbert Islands, during the late 19th century. Biography Tembinok'′s grandfather, Temkarotu (d. 1860), w ...

was the last of the dozens of expansionist Chiefs of Gilbert Islands of this period, despite Abemama historically conforming to the traditional Southern Island's governance of their respective "''unimwaane''". He was immortalised in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's book ''In the South Seas'', which delved into the High Chief's character and method of rule during Stevenson's stay in Abemama. The 90th anniversary of his arrival in the Gilbert Islands was chosen to celebrate the independence of Kiribati on 12 July 1979.

Colonial era

Chance visits by European ships occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, while those ships attempted circumnavigations of the world, or sought sailing routes from the south to north Pacific Ocean. A passing trade, whaling the On-The-Line grounds, and labour ships associated with

blackbirding Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people in ...

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Queensland (Australia) in the 19 ...

workers, visited the islands in large numbers during the 19th century, with social, economic, political, religious and cultural consequences. More than 9,000 workers were sent abroad from 1845 to 1895, most of them not returning. The passing trade gave rise to European, Chinese, Samoan and other residents from the 1830s: they included beachcombers, castaways, traders and missionaries. Declaration of a protectorate on Abemama by Captain Davis, 27th May 1892

Declaration of a protectorate on Abemama by Captain Davis, 27th May 1892

In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned the "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence, while Ocean Island and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence. In 1892, local Gilbertese authorities (an ''uea'', a chief from the Northern Gilbert Group, and ''atun te boti'' or head of clan) on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain E.H.M. Davis commanding HMS ''Royalist'' of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

declaring them part of a British protectorate, along with the nearby

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

. They were administered by a

resident commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

based first on Makin Islands (1893–95), then in

Betio Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll. Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964 ...

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Ocean Island (1908–1942), protectorate who was under the Western Pacific High Commission based in Fiji.

, known to Europeans as Ocean Island, was added to the protectorate in 1900, because of the

phosphate rock Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentox ...

of its soil (discovered in 1900). This discovery and the mining ended the contracting of Kanakas workers to farm plantations in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

German Samoa German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the las ...

or Central America, with all the needed workers being used in Ocean Island extraction. The conduct of William Telfer Campbell, the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts and Ellice Islands of 1896 to 1908, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became the subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy. In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...

'' newspaper described the maladministration of W. Telfer Campbell and questioned the partiality of Arthur Mahaffy, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. The anonymous correspondent also criticised the operations of the Pacific Phosphate Company on Ocean Island. Boeing 314 Clipper in cruise

The islands became the crown colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1916. The Northern Line Islands, including Christmas Island (

Kiritimati Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonolog ...

), were added to the colony in 1919, and the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Republic of Kiri ...

were added in 1937 with the purpose of a

Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western Pacific ocean and was the last attempt at human colonisation within the British Empire. History Conceived by Henry E. "Harry" Maude, lands commissioner of the Gilbert and Ell ...

. On 12 July 1940,

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

Airways' '' American Clipper'' landed at

Canton Island Canton Island (also known as Kanton or Abariringa), previously known as Mary Island, Mary Balcout's Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, northernmost, and , the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It i ...

for the first time during a flight from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. Sir

was a cadet administrative officer based at Tarawa (1913–1919) and became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1926. Stamp Gilbert Ellice Islands 1939 3p

In 1902, the Pacific Cable Board laid the first trans-Pacific telegraph cable from Bamfield, British Columbia to

Fanning Island Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island, is an atoll that is part of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean and part of Kiribati. The land area is , and the population in 2015 was 2,315. The maximum elevation is about 3 m (10 ...

(Tabuaeran) in the Line Islands, and from Fiji to Fanning Island, thus completing the

All Red Line The All Red Line was a system of electrical telegraphs that linked much of the British Empire. It was inaugurated on 31 October 1902. The informal name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or ...

, a series of telegraph lines circumnavigating the globe completely within the British Empire. The location of Fanning Island, one of the closest formations to Hawaii, led to its annexation by the British Empire in 1888. Nearby candidates including

Palmyra Island Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii a ...

were not favoured due to the lack of adequate landing sites. The United States eventually incorporated the Northern Line Islands into its territories, and did the same with the

, which lie between Gilberts and the Line Islands, including Howland, Jarvis, and Baker islands, thus causing a territorial dispute. That was eventually resolved and they finally became part of Kiribati under the

Treaty of Tarawa On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. More formally, the treaty is entit ...

After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Butaritari Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets al ...

and Tarawa, and others of the Northern Gilbert group, were occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1943.

became an airfield and supply base. The expulsion of the Japanese military in late 1943 involved one of the bloodiest battles in

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

history. Marines landed in November 1943 and the Battle of Tarawa ensued. Ocean Island, the headquarters of the colony, was bombed, evacuated and occupied by Japan in 1942 and only freed in 1945, after the massacre of all but one of the Gilbertese on the island by the Japanese forces.

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

hosted then the provisional headquarters of the colony from 1942 to 1946, when Tarawa returned to host the headquarters, replacing Ocean Island. At the end of 1945, most of the remaining inhabitants of Banaba, repatriated from

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes the main island of Kosrae and a few near ...

, Nauru and Tarawa, were relocated to

Rabi Island Rabi (pronounced ) is a volcanic island in northern Fiji. It is an outlier to Taveuni (5 kilometers west), in the Vanua Levu Group. It covers an area of 66.3 square kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of 463 meters and has a shoreline of 46. ...

, a land of Fiji that the British government had acquired in 1942 for this purpose. On 1 January 1953, the British Western Pacific High Commissioner of the colony was transferred from Fiji to the new capital of Honiara, to the British Solomon Islands, with the Gilberts' Resident Commissioner still headquartered in Tarawa. Further military operations in the colony occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s when

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

was used by the United States and United Kingdom for

nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

including hydrogen bombs. Institutions of internal self-rule were established on Tarawa from about 1967. The Ellice Islands asked for separation from the rest of the colony in 1974 and granted their own internal self-rule institutions. The separation entered into force on 1 January 1976. In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent nation of

.Ridgell, Reilly (1995) ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia''. 3rd Edition. Honolulu: Bess Press. . p. 95.

Independence

The Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Then, in September, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and Line Islands, in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati ( ratified in 1983). Although the indigenous

name for the Gilbert Islands proper is "Tungaru", the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese spelling of "Gilberts", because it was more modern and as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of Banaba, the Line Islands, and the

. The last two archipelagoes were never initially occupied by Gilbertese until the British authorities, and later the Republic Government, resettled Gilbertese there under resettlement schemes. In 1982, the first elections since independence were held. A no confidence vote provoked the 1983 new election. In the post-independence era, overcrowding has been an issue, at least in British and aid organisations' eyes. In 1988, an announcement was made that 4,700 residents of the main island group would be resettled onto less-populated islands. In September 1994, Teburoro Tito from the opposition was elected president. In 1995, Kiribati unilaterally moved the international date line far to the east to encompass the Line Islands group, so that the nation would no longer be divided by the date line. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises, was intended to allow businesses 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 In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is li ...

, an event of significance for tourism. Tito was re-elected in 1998. In 1999, Kiribati became a full member of the United Nations, 20 years after independence. In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law that enabled the government to shut down newspaper publishers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful non-government-run newspaper. President Tito was re-elected in 2003 but was removed from office in March 2003 by a no-confidence vote and replaced by a Council of State.

Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952 in Tabuaeran, Line Islands) is an I-Kiribati politician for the Pillars of Truth party and environmental activist with half Chinese heritage, who served as President of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the elect ...

of the opposition party Boutokaan Te Koaua was elected to succeed Tito in July 2003. He was re-elected in 2007 and in 2011. In June 2008, Kiribati officials asked Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. Kiribati is expected to be the first country to lose all its land territory to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. In June 2008, the Kiribati President Anote Tong said that the country had reached "the point of no return." He added, "To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that." In January 2012, Anote Tong was re-elected for a third and last successive term. In early 2012, the government of Kiribati purchased the 2,200-hectare Natoavatu Estate on the second largest island of Fiji,

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...

. At the time it was widely reported that the government planned to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere. In May 2014, the Office of the President confirmed the purchase of some 5,460 acres of land on Vanua Levu at a cost of 9.3 million Australian dollars. In March 2016,

Taneti Maamau Taneti Maamau (modern spelling: Taaneti Mwamwau, born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the 5th President of Kiribati since 11 March 2016. Political career A member of Tobwaan Kiribati Party, he began his career ...

was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

as the new President of Kiribati. He was the fifth president since the country became independent in 1979. In June 2020, President Maamau won

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

for second four-year term. President Maamau was considered pro-China and he supported closer ties with Beijing. The 2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis started with the suspension of all 5 major Justices of the

judiciary of Kiribati The Judiciary of Kiribati is the branch of the Government of Kiribati which interprets and applies the laws of the country. In addition to the Constitution of Kiribati and the corpus of laws, the laws of Kiribati include customary law, which the c ...

Politics

The Constitution of Kiribati, promulgated 12 July 1979, provides for free and open elections in a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

democratic republic. The executive branch consists of a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

(''te Beretitenti''), a

vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

and a cabinet. The president, who is also chief of the cabinet, is directly elected by the citizens, after the legislature nominates three or four persons from among its members to be candidates in the ensuing presidential election. The president is limited to serving three four-year terms, and remains a member of the assembly. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice-president, and 13 ministers (appointed by the president) who are also ministers of parliament. The legislative branch is the unicameral ''

Maneaba ni Maungatabu The House of Assembly (, ) is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fi ...

'' (House of Assembly). Its members are elected, including by constitutional mandate, a nominated representative of the Banaban people in

, Fiji (Banaba, former Ocean Island), in addition to, until 2016, the attorney general, who served as an ''ex officio'' member from 1979 to 2016. 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 generally are free from central government controls. There are a total of 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Each inhabited island has its own council. Since independence, Kiribati is no longer divided into districts (see

Subdivisions of Kiribati In Kiribati, there are no longer official administrative divisions but it is possible to divide Kiribati geographically into one isolated island and three archipelagos or island groups: * Banaba – isolated island * Gilbert Islands * Line Islan ...

). Kiribati has formal political parties but their organisation is quite informal. Ad hoc opposition groups tend to coalesce around specific issues. There is universal suffrage at age 18. Today the only recognisable parties are the

Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party The Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party (BKM) is a political party in Kiribati from the merger of the Kiribati First Party and Boutokaan te Koaua in 2020. History The party was established in May 2020, after the merger of the Pillars of Truth with ...

, former ''Boutokaan te Koaua'', and Tobwaan Kiribati Party.

Foreign relations

Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Fiji. The first three of these provide the bulk of the country's foreign aid.

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and Japan also have specified-period licences to fish in Kiribati's waters. There are three resident diplomatic missions headquartered in

: the Embassies of the Republic of China (Taiwan) until 2019, replaced by

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 2020 and the High Commissions of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. A

US Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

will open in 2023. In November 1999, Kiribati agreed to allow Japan's

National Space Development Agency The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, ...

to lease land on

(formerly Christmas Island) for 20 years, on which to build a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

. The agreement stipulated that Japan was to pay US$840,000 per year and would also pay for any damage to roads and the environment. A Japanese-built downrange

tracking station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

operates on Kiritimati and an abandoned airfield on the island was designated as the landing strip for a proposed reusable unmanned space shuttle called

HOPE-X HOPE (H-II Orbiting Plane) was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s. It was positioned for most of its lifetime as one of the main Japanese contri ...

. HOPE-X, however, was eventually cancelled by Japan in 2003. As one of the world's most vulnerable nations to the

effects of global warming The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea lev ...

, Kiribati has been an active participant in international diplomatic efforts relating to climate change, most importantly the

UNFCCC The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in th ...

conferences of the parties (COP). Kiribati is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental organisation of low-lying coastal and small island countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of

Small Island Developing States Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness ...

(SIDS) to address global warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward the first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994. In 2009, President Tong attended the

Climate Vulnerable Forum The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is a global partnership of countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. The forum addresses the negative effects of climate change as a result of heightened socioeconomic ...

( V11) in the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

, with 10 other countries that are vulnerable to climate change, and signed the Bandos Island declaration on 10 November 2009, pledging to show moral leadership and commence greening their economies by voluntarily committing to achieving

carbon neutrality Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

. In November 2010, Kiribati hosted the

Tarawa Climate Change Conference The Tarawa Climate Change Conference (TCCC), was held in the Republic of Kiribati from 9 to 10 November 2010. The purpose of the conference was to support the initiative of the President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, to hold a consultative forum between ...

(TCCC) to support the president of Kiribati's initiative to hold a consultative forum between vulnerable states and their partners. The conference strove to create an enabling environment for multi-party negotiations under the auspices of the UNFCCC. The conference was a successor event to the Climate Vulnerable Forum. The ultimate objective of TCCC was to reduce the number and intensity of fault lines between parties to the COP process, explore elements of agreement between the parties and thereby to support Kiribati's and other parties' contribution to

COP16 The 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The ...

held in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. In 2013, President Tong spoke of climate-change induced

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

as "inevitable". "For our people to survive, then they will have to migrate. Either we can wait for the time when we have to move people en masse or we can prepare them—beginning from now ..." In New York in 2014, per ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', President Tong told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' that "according to the projections, within this century, the water will be higher than the highest point in our lands". In 2014, President Tong finalised the purchase of a stretch of land on

, one of the larger Fiji islands, 2,000 km away. A move described by Tong as an "absolute necessity" should the nation be completely submerged under water. In 2013, attention was drawn to a claim of a Kiribati man of being a "climate change refugee" under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951). However, this claim was determined by the New Zealand High Court to be untenable. The New Zealand Court of Appeal also rejected the claim in a 2014 decision. On further appeal, the New Zealand Supreme Court confirmed the earlier adverse rulings against the application for refugee status, but rejected the proposition "that environmental degradation resulting from climate change or other natural disasters could never create a pathway into the Refugee Convention or protected person jurisdiction". In 2017, Kiribati signed the UN

treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It ...

. On 20 September 2019, the government of Kiribati restored its diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China and simultaneously stopped its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. China offered a 737 aircraft and ferries to Kiribati for the decision, according to Taiwan's foreign minister,

Joseph Wu Joseph Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under current President Tsai Ing-wen since February 26, 2018. He was formerly the Secretary-Gen ...

Peace Corps

From 1973 though 2008, a total of almost 500 US Peace Corps volunteers were based on the Islands, as many as 45 in a given year. Activities included assisting in the planning, design and construction of wells, libraries, and other infrastructure, and agricultural, environmental, and community health education. In 2006, volunteer placement was significantly scaled down due to the reduction of consistent air transportation to the outer islands; it was later ended because the associated ability to provide medical care to volunteers could not be assured. In July 2022, US Vice President Harris announced plans to build a new embassy in Kiribati and Tonga and reestablish the Peace Corps presence in the region.

Law enforcement and military

RKS Teanoai, during a joint exercise 2019-11-07

Law enforcement in Kiribati is carried out by the Kiribati Police Service which is responsible for all law enforcement and paramilitary duties for the island nation. There are police posts located on all of the islands. The police have one patrol boat, the

Pacific-class The Pacific class (also known as the Pacific Forum classToppan & Walsh, ''World Navies Today: Other Asia-Pacific Navies'' and the ASI 315 class) is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. They ...

patrol boat RKS ''Teanoai II''. Kiribati has no military and relies on both Australia and New Zealand for its defence. The main prison in Kiribati is located in

, named the Walter Betio Prison. There is also a prison in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Male

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

is illegal in Kiribati, with a penalty up to 14 years in prison, according to a historical British law, but this law is not enforced. Kiribati has not yet followed the lead of the United Kingdom, following its

Wolfenden report The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden report, after Sir John Wolfenden, the chairman of the committee) was published in the United Kingdom on 4 September 1957 after a suc ...

, to decriminalise acts of male homosexuality, beginning with provisions in the UK's Sexual Offences Act 1957. Female homosexuality is legal, but lesbians may face violence and discrimination. However, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited.

Administrative divisions

There are 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Kiribati can be geographically divided into three

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

es or groups of islands, which have no administrative functions. They are: * Gilbert Islands *

, in one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth (was the largest from 2008 to 2010) * Line Islands The original districts before independence were: *

(Ocean Island) *

Tarawa Atoll Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
'' Northern Gilbert Islands * Central Gilbert Island * Southern Gilbert Islands * Line Islands Four of the former districts (including Tarawa) lie in the Gilbert Islands, where most of the country's population lives. Five of the Line Islands are uninhabited (

Malden Island Malden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the 19th century, is a low, arid, uninhabited atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati. The lagoon is enti ...

Starbuck Island Starbuck Island (or Volunteer Island) is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific, and is part of the Central Line Islands of Kiribati. Former names include "Barren Island", "Coral Queen Island", "Hero Island", "Low Island", and " ...

, Millenium Island,

Vostok Island Vostok Island is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Line Islands belonging to Kiribati. Other names for the island include Anne Island, Bostock Island, Leavitts Island, Reaper Island, Wostock Island or Wostok I ...

and

Flint Island Flint Island is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati. In 2014 the Kiribati government established a exclusion zone around each of the southern Line ...

). 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

in Fiji. Each of the 21 inhabited islands has its own local council that takes care of daily affairs. There is one council for each inhabited island, with two exceptions: Tarawa Atoll has three councils:

Town Council, (TUC) for the rest of

) and Eutan Tarawa Council (ETC) (for

North Tarawa North Tarawa or in Gilbertese ''Tarawa Ieta'', in the Republic of Kiribati, is the string of islets from Buariki at the northern tip of Tarawa atoll to Buota in the South, with a combined population of 6,629 . It is administratively separate ...

); and Tabiteuea has two councils.

Geography

Map of the Territorial Waters of the Pacific Ocean

Kiribati consists of 32 atolls and one solitary island (Banaba), extending into the eastern and western hemispheres, as well as the northern and southern hemispheres. Its extensive exclusive economic zone covers three, non-contiguous, traditional geographic subregions: Banaba (

n-Micronesian area), the Gilbert Islands (Micronesia) and the Line and Phoenix Islands (

). The groups of islands are: * Banaba: an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands * Gilbert Islands: 16 atolls located some north of Fiji * Phoenix Islands: 8 atolls and coral islands located some southeast of the Gilberts * Line Islands: 8 atolls and one reef, located about east of the Gilberts Banaba (or Ocean Island) is a raised-coral island. It was once a rich source of

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

s, but was exhausted in mining before independence. The rest of the land in Kiribati consists of the sand and reef rock islets of atolls or coral islands, which rise only one or two metres above sea level. The soil is thin and

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

. It has a low water-holding capacity and low organic matter and nutrient content—except for calcium, sodium, and magnesium. Banaba is one of the least suitable places for agriculture in the world.

(previously Christmas Island) in the Line Islands is the world's largest atoll. Based on a 1995 realignment of the International Date Line, the Line Islands were the first area to enter into a new year, including year 2000. For that reason, Caroline Island was renamed

Millennium Island Caroline Island (also known as Caroline Atoll or Millennium Island) is the easternmost of several uninhabited coral atolls comprising the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati. The atoll was first sighted by Eu ...

in 1997. The majority of Kiribati, including the capital, is not first, for example New Zealand (UTC+13 in January) has an earlier new year.

Environmental issues

According to the

Pacific Regional Environment Programme The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is an intergovernmental organisation based in Apia, Samoa with more than 90 staff members. The organisation is held accountable by the governments and administrations of the Pa ...

(previously South Pacific Regional Environment Programme), two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater in 1999. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise by about 50 cm (20 in) by 2100 due to

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

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 Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

and will be largely submerged. The exposure of Kiribati to changes in sea levels is exacerbated by the

Pacific decadal oscillation The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is a robust, recurring pattern of ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the mid-latitude Pacific basin. The PDO is detected as warm or cool surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, north of 20°N. O ...

, which is a climate switch phenomenon that results in changes from periods of

La Niña La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name ''La Niña'' originates from Spanish for "the girl", by an ...

to periods of

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...

. This has an effect on sea levels. For example, in 2000, there was a switch from periods of downward pressure of El Niño on sea levels to an upward pressure of La Niña on sea levels, which upward pressure causes more frequent and higher high tide levels. The

Perigean spring tide A perigean spring tide is a tide that occurs three or four times per year when a perigee (the point nearest Earth reached by the Moon during its 27.3-day elliptic orbit) coincides with a spring tide (when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are nearl ...

(often called a

king tide A king tide is an especially high spring tide, especially the perigean spring tides which occur three or four times a year. King tide is not a scientific term, nor is it used in a scientific context. The expression originated in Australia, Ne ...

) can result in seawater flooding low-lying areas of the islands of Kiribati. Onotoa

The

atolls An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...

and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

islands can respond to changes in sea-level. Paul Kench at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the

South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an inter-governmental regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. In 2010, its functions had been transferred to ...

in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of atolls and reef islands in the central Pacific. Kiribati was mentioned in the study, and Webb and Kench found that the three major urbanised islands in Kiribati—Betio, Bairiki and Nanikai—increased by 30% (36 hectares), 16.3% (5.8 hectares) and 12.5% (0.8 hectares), respectively. The study by Paul Kench and Arthur Webb recognises that the islands are extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, and concluded that: "This study did not measure vertical growth of the island surface nor does it suggest there is any change in the height of the islands. Since land height has not changed the vulnerability of the greater part of the land area of each island to submergence due to sea level rise is also unchanged and these low-lying atolls remain immediately and extremely vulnerable to inundation or sea water flooding." The Climate Change in the Pacific Report of 2011 describes Kiribati as having a low risk of cyclones; however in March 2015 Kiribati experienced flooding and destruction of seawalls and coastal infrastructure as the result of

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...

, a Category 5 cyclone that devastated

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. Kiribati remains exposed to the risk that cyclones can strip the low-lying islands of their vegetation and soil. Gradual sea-level rise also allows for coral polyp activity to raise the atolls with the sea level. However, if the increase in sea level occurs at a rate faster than coral growth, or if polyp activity is damaged by

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

, then the resilience of the atolls and reef islands is less certain. Also,

coral bleaching Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae ( dinoflagellates that are commonly referred to as a ...

has occurred on more than 60% of the coral reefs in the Maldives. The

Kiribati Adaptation Program The Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP) is a US$5.5 million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government of Kiribati with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Progra ...

(KAP), started in 2003, is a US$5.5 million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government of Kiribati with the support of the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...

(GEF), the

, the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, and the Japanese government. Australia later joined the coalition, donating US$1.5 million to the effort. The program aims to take place over six years, supporting measures that reduce Kiribati's vulnerability to the effects of

and sea level rise by raising awareness of climate change, assessing and protecting available water resources, and managing inundation. At the start of the Adaptation Program, representatives from each of the inhabited atolls identified key climatic changes that had taken place over the past 20–40 years and proposed coping mechanisms to deal with these changes under four categories of urgency of need. The program is now focusing on the country's most vulnerable sectors in the most highly populated areas. Initiatives include improving water supply management in and around Tarawa;

coastal management Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

protection measures such as mangrove re-plantation and protection of public infrastructure; strengthening laws to reduce coastal erosion; and population settlement planning to reduce personal risks.

Climate

Kiribati has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

( Af). From April to October, there are predominant northeastern winds and stable temperatures close to . From November to April, western gales bring rain. Kiribati wet season (''te Auu-Meang'') also recognized as the

Tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...

(TC) (''te Angibuaka'') season starts from November to April every year. Kiribati therefore typically experiences more extreme weather events associated with

Tropical disturbance Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few scales of classifications are used officially by the mete ...

s (TD) or Tropical cyclones during te Auu-Meang. But Tropical cyclones rarely develop or pass along the equator where Kiribati is located. However, based on past events, Kiribati has been impacted from distant Tropical cyclone (TC) and the impacts were observed while the systems are in their development stages (Tropical Low/disturbance) or even before they reach Tropical cyclone category. The fair season starts when ''Ten Rimwimata'' (

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ ...

) appears in the sky after sunset, from May to November, when more gentle winds and currents and less rain. Then towards December, when ''Nei Auti'' (

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

) replaces Antares, the season of sudden westerly winds and more heavy rain discourages any far travel from island to island. Kiribati does not experience cyclones but effects may occasionally be experienced during cyclone seasons affecting nearby Pacific Island countries such as Fiji. Precipitation varies significantly between islands. For example, the annual average is 3,000 mm (120 in) in the north and 500 mm (20 in) in the south of the Gilbert Islands. Most of these islands are in the dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic zone and experience prolonged droughts.

Ecology

Kiribati contains three ecosystems:

Central Polynesian tropical moist forests The Central Polynesian tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Polynesia. It includes the northern group of the Cook Islands, the Line Islands in Kiribati, and Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, Palmyr ...

Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests The Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Micronesia. It includes the Marshall Islands, Banaba and the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati, Nauru, and Wake Island, a possession of th ...

, and

Western Polynesian tropical moist forests The Western Polynesian tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Polynesia. It includes Tuvalu, the Phoenix Islands in Kiribati, Tokelau, and Howland and Baker islands, which are possessions of the ...

. Because of the relatively young geological age of the islands and atolls and high level of

, the flora of Kiribati is somewhat unhealthy. The Gilbert Islands contain about 83 indigenous and 306 introduced plants, whereas the corresponding numbers for Line and Phoenix Islands are 67 and 283. None of these species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

, and about half of the indigenous ones have a limited distribution and became endangered or nearly extinct due to human activities such as phosphate mining. Coconut, pandanus palms and breadfruit trees are the most common ''wild'' plants,Kiribati
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' whereas the five most cultivated crops but the traditional ''Babai'', ''

Cyrtosperma merkusii ''Cyrtosperma merkusii'' or giant swamp taro, is a crop grown throughout Oceania and into South and Southeast Asia. It is a riverine and "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." There are no demonstrably ...

'', are imported

Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage (''Brassica rapa'', subspecies ''pekinensis'' and ''chinensis'') can refer to two cultivar groups of leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group (bok choy). These ...

, pumpkin, tomato, watermelon and cucumber. Over eighty per cent of the population participates in either farming or fishing.

Seaweed farming Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of cultivating and harvesting seaweed. In its simplest form, it consists of the management of naturally found batches. In its most advanced form, it consists of fully controlling the life cycle ...

is an important part of the economy , with two major species '' Eucheuma alcarezii'' and '' Eucheuma spinosium'' introduced to the local lagoons from the Philippines in 1977. It competes with collection of the black-lipped pearl oyster (''

Pinctada margaritifera ''Pinctada margaritifera'', commonly known as the black-lip pearl oyster, is a species of pearl oyster, a saltwater mollusk, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pteriidae. This species is common in the Indo-Pacific within tropical coral ree ...

'') and shellfish, which are dominated by the strombid gastropod ('' Strombus luhuanus'') and Anadara cockles (''

Anadara ''Anadara'' is a genus of saltwater bivalves, ark clams, in the family Arcidae. It is also called ''Scapharca''. This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous period to the Quaternary period (age range: 140.2 to 0.0 million yea ...

uropigimelana''), whereas the stocks of the giant clam (''

Tridacna gigas The giant clams are the members of the clam genus ''Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus ''Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', ...

'') have been largely exhausted. Kiribati has a few land mammals, none being indigenous or endemic. They include the Polynesian rat (''

Rattus exulans The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...

''), dogs, cats and pigs. Among the 75 bird species, the Bokikokiko (''Acrocephalus aequinoctialis'') is endemic to

. There are 600–800 species of inshore and pelagic finfish, some 200 species of corals and about 1000 species of shellfish. Fishing mostly targets the family

Scombridae The mackerel, tuna, and bonito family, Scombridae, includes many of the most important and familiar food fishes. The family consists of 51 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies. All species are in the subfamily Scombrinae, except the butterf ...

, particularly the skipjack tuna and

yellowfin tuna The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye ...

as well as

flying fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...

(''Cypselurus'' spp.). Dogs were already accompanying the first inhabitants but were re-introduced by European settlers: they have continued to grow in numbers and are roaming in traditional packs, particularly around South Tarawa.

Economy

Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable

deposits on

were exhausted at the time of independence.

Copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. Kiribati has the lowest GDP out of any sovereign state in

, and is considered one of the least developed countries in the world. In one form or another, Kiribati gets a large portion of its income from abroad. Examples include fishing licences, development assistance, workers' remittances, especially the seafarers issued from Marine Training Centre, and a few tourists. Given Kiribati's limited domestic production ability, it must import nearly all of its essential foodstuffs and manufactured items; it depends on these external sources of income for financing. The economy of Kiribati benefits from international development assistance programs. The multilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(A$9 million), the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(A$3.7 million), UNICEF, and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(A$100,000). The bilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were Australia (A$11 million), Japan (A$2 million), New Zealand (A$6.6 million),

(A$10.6 million), and other donors providing A$16.2 million, including technical assistance grants from the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

. The major donors in 2010/2011 were Australia (A$15 million), Taiwan (A$11 million); New Zealand (A$6 million), the

(A$4 million) and the

. In 1956, Gilbert and Ellice Islands established a

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

to act as a store of wealth for the country's earnings from

mining. In 2008, the

Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund The Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (RERF) is the sovereign wealth fund of the Pacific island republic of Kiribati. The RERF was created in 1956 to act as a store of wealth for the country's earnings from phosphate mining, which at one time ac ...

was valued at US$400 million. The RERF assets declined from A$637 million (420% of GDP) in 2007 to A$570.5 million (350% of GDP) in 2009 as the result of the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

and exposure to failed Icelandic banks. In addition, draw-downs were made by the government of Kiribati to finance budgetary shortfalls during this period. In May 2011, the IMF country report assessment of the economy of Kiribati is that "After two years of contraction, the economy recovered in the second half of 2010 and inflation pressure dissipated. It is estimated to have grown by 1.75% for the year. Despite a weather-related drop in copra production, private sector activity appears to have picked up, especially in retail. Tourist arrivals rebounded by 20% compared to 2009, although from a very low base. Despite the rise in world food and fuel prices, inflation has bounced from 2008 crisis-highs into negative territory, reflecting the strong appreciation of the Australian dollar, which is used as the domestic currency, and a decline in the world price of rice. Credit growth in the overall economy declined in 2009 as economic activity stalled. But it started to pick up in the second half of 2010 as the recovery gained traction". A major Australian bank, ANZ, maintains a presence on Kiribati with a number of branches and ATM units.

Ornamental fish

Kiribati is a major exporter of hand-caught

ornamental fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry an ...

. There are eight licensed operators based on

(Christmas Island). At the end of 2005, the number of pet fish exported was 110,000. All operators have a land-based facility but fish are kept in containers on the reef until the day before the shipment. This is to reduce the running cost and the mortality of pet fish to be exported. The flame angelfish ('' Centropyge loriculus'') is the major species exported.

Transport

Kiribati has had two domestic airlines:

Air Kiribati Air Kiribati (pronounced Air Kiri'bas) is the flag carrier of the Republic of Kiribati and operates scheduled passenger services to 20 atolls spread over an area of 3.5m sq km. It is headquartered at Bonriki International Airport on the island ...

and

Coral Sun Airways Coral Sun Airways is the younger of two Kiribati airlines (after flag carrier Air Kiribati), established in January 2009. The airline operated domestic service to all 17 airports in the Gilbert Islands, but stopped any regular service and offers on ...

. Both airlines are based in Tarawa's

Bonriki International Airport Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country. It is located in its capital, South Tarawa, which is a group of islets in the atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, precisely on ...

and serve destinations across the Gilbert Islands and Line Islands only:

and the

are not served by the domestic carriers. Cassidy International Airport on

has an international service provided by Fiji Airways:

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

to Cassidy Airport and then to

Communications and media

The islands’ remote location in the Central Pacific at approximately the International Date Line and spanning hundreds of miles north and south of the equator has meant that communications between them has always been challenging and conducted primarily by radio and print media. TV Kiribati Ltd, was owned by the government operated between 2004 and mid-2012, but could not reach all of the Islands. Radio Kiribati, based on Tarawa and operated by the government's Broadcasting and Publications Authority (BPA) on 1440 kHz AM is the only form of mass media that reaches all the major islands. Transmission hours are limited and local content in Gilbertese is supplemented by English summaries and BBC News. The BPA and a private broadcaster also operate FM stations accessible on Tarawa. Inter-island communications for many years relied on a centralized shortwave radio network operated by Telecom Services Kiribati, Ltd (TSKL) based in each Island's Council Headquarters. Numerous issues including low availability, maintenance, privacy, and only one per island led TSKL to adopt satellite-based telephones. However, the system is more expensive and still only located at Council Headquarters. Print weeklies in Gilbertese include the ''Te Uekara'' published by the government, ''Te Mauri'' published by the Kiribati Protestant Church, and the ''Kiribati Independent'', published from

as well as the ''Kiribati Newstar'', published in English. In December 2019, SpaceX launched the Kacific1 broadband satellite that provides 100Mbit/s mobile and broadband service to 25 countries throughout to the Asia-Pacific region including Kiribati. Three of the satellite's 56 spot beams provide overlapping coverage of the Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu; however, the more eastern regions of the country, the Phoenix and Line Islands, are outside of the satellite's coverage. The Southern Cross NEXT cable system, which entered service in July 2022, connects the US to Australia and provides service to Kiribati (Tarawa) through the Kiritimati Branch with one fiber pair. The network, which is an upgrade to the existing

Southern Cross Cable The Southern Cross Cable is a trans-Pacific network of telecommunications cables commissioned in 2000. The network is operated by the Bermuda-registered company ''Southern Cross Cables Limited''. The network has 28,900 km of submarine an ...

, also connects to Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand. In June 2021, the World Bank-backed procurement for the East Micronesian Cable system was cancelled due to security concerns. The undersea fiberoptic system, which would have originated in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, was "designed to improve the communications in the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)."

Demographics

Children in Bairiki Square, Tarawa, Kiribati

The November 2020 census showed a population of 119,940. About 90% lived in the Gilbert Islands, with 52.9% of them on South Tarawa, including

, the biggest township. Until recently, people lived mostly 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 and infertile soil hinder reliable large-scale agriculture, so the islanders have largely turned to the sea for livelihood and subsistence. Most are outrigger sailors and fishermen. 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, where Betio is the largest town and South Tarawa reunites larger towns like Bikenibeu or

Teaoraereke Teaoraereke (in Gilbertese, the narrow surface) is a town and settlement in South Tarawa of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which are now linked by causeways, between Bairiki ...

. Increasing urbanisation has raised the population of South Tarawa to 63,017.

Ethnicity

The native people of Kiribati are called

I-Kiribati The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Ethno ...

. Ethnically, the I-Kiribati are Oceanians and Micronesians, a sub-ethnicity of

Austronesians The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrone ...

. Recent archaeological evidence indicates that Austronesians originally settled the islands thousands of years ago . Around the 14th century, Fijians, Samoans, and Tongans invaded the islands, thus diversifying the ethnic range and introducing Polynesian linguistic traits. Intermarriage among all ancestral groups, however, has led to a population reasonably homogeneous in appearance and traditions.

Languages

The people of Kiribati speak

, an

. English is the other

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

, but is not used very often outside the island capital of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...

s have been adopted (like ''buun'', spoon, ''moko'', smoke, ''beeki'', pig, ''batoro'', bottle) but some typical Gilbertese words are quite common, even for European objects (like ''wanikiba'', plane – the flying canoe, ''rebwerebwe'', motorbike – for the motor noise, ''kauniwae'', shoes – the cow for the feet).

Religion

Christianity is the major religion in Kiribati, having been lately introduced by missionaries, because of its remoteness and the absence of any significant European presence until the latter half of the 19th century. The population is predominantly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

(58.9%), with two main Protestant denominations (

Kiribati Protestant Church The Kiribati Protestant Church (KPC) and earlier, the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church, is a Protestant Christian denomination in Kiribati. With approximately 10,000 members,Kiribati Uniting Church The Kiribati Uniting Church (KUC) (until 2014 the Kiribati Protestant Church and earlier, the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church) is a united Protestant Christian denomination in Kiribati. With approximately 25,000 members,

21.2%) accounting for 29.6%.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(5.6%),

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

(2.1%), Seventh-day Adventist Church (2.1%),

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other small faiths together account for less than 2% (2020 census).

Health

The Gilbert Islands where 90% of the Kiribati population live, boast some of the highest population densities in the Pacific, rivalling, without any tall building, cities like Hong Kong or Singapore. This overcrowding produces a great amount of pollution, worsening the quality and length of life. Due to insufficient sanitation and water filtration systems, worsened by the fragility of the water lens of the atolls and by climate change, only about 66% have access to clean water. Waterborne diseases grow at record levels throughout the islands. Poor sanitation has led to an increase in cases of conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, dysentery, and fungal infections. Around 57% of adults smoke tobacco products on a regular basis, the highest proportion in the world. Due to this and other " lifestyle diseases," such as

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

, there has been a drastic spike in amputations on the islands, doubling in a few years. As a consequence, the population of Kiribati has a quite low life expectancy at birth of 68.46 years. Even if this data is of only 66.9 years, provided elsewhere, Kiribati ranks last in life expectancy out of the 20 nations of Oceania. This life expectancy is 64.3 for males, and 69.5 for females and there is an infant mortality rate of 41 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

has a small presence in the country, with 365 cases per 100,000 a year. Government expenditure on health was at US$268 per capita (PPP) in 2006. In 1990–2007, there were 23 physicians per 100,000 persons. Since the arrival of Cuban doctors in 2006, the infant mortality rate has decreased significantly. Most health problems are related to consumption of semi-raw seafood, limited food storage facilities, and bacterial contamination of fresh water supplies. In the early 2000s, between 1 and 7% of the population, depending on the island, were annually treated for food poisoning in a hospital. Modernization and cross-cultural exchange of the late 20th century brought new issues of unhealthy diet and lifestyle, heavy smoking, especially among the young, and external infections, including HIV/AIDS. Kiribati is the country with the third highest prevalence of smoking in the world, with 54–57% of the population reported as smokers. Fresh water remains a concern of Kiribati – during the dry season (Aumaiaki), water has been drilled for instead of using rain water tanks. In recent years, there has been a longer than usual Aumaikai season resulting in additional water having to be drilled from beneath the water table. This has introduced water-borne illnesses, compounding the health problems within Kiribati. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Kiribati is fulfilling 77.2% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Kiribati achieves 93.8% of what is expected based on its current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves 92.2% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. Kiribati falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 45.5% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.

Education

University of South Pacific, Kiribati Campus

Primary education is free and compulsory for the first 9 years, beginning at age 6. 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. Most choosing to do the latter have gone to Fiji to attend the

, and those wishing to complete medical training have been sent to Australia, New Zealand or Cuba. The education system is organised as follows: *Preschool for childhood from 1 to 5 years; *Primary school (Class 1 to 6) from 6 to 11 years; *Junior secondary school (Form 1 to 3) from 12 to 14; *Senior secondary school (Form 4 to 7) from 15 to 18. Kiribati Ministry of Education is the education ministry. The government high schools are King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School,

Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the bigger and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands but Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, in the nor ...

, and Melaengi Tabai Secondary School. 13 high schools are operated by Christian churches. The University of the South Pacific has a campus in

for distant/flexible learning, but also to provide preparatory studies towards obtaining certificates, diplomas and degrees at other campus sites. The other prominent schools in Kiribati are: * the Marine Training Centre in Betio; * the Kiribati Institute of Technology; * the Kiribati Fisheries Training Centre; * the Kiribati School of Nursing; * the Kiribati Police Academy; * the Kiribati Teachers College.

Culture

Songs (''te anene'') and above all, dances (''te mwaie''), are held in high regard.

Music

Kiribati folk music is generally based on

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

or other forms of vocalising, accompanied by

body percussion Body percussion may be performed on its own or as an accompaniment to music and/or dance. Examples of countries' folk traditions that incorporate body percussion include Indonesian saman, Ethiopian armpit music, palmas in flamenco, and the hambone ...

. 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 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. There are also stick dances which accompany legends and semi-historical stories. These stick dances or "tirere" (pronounced seerere) are performed only during major festivals.

Dance

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 Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...

(''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.

Cuisine

Traditionally, the staple diet of the I-Kiribati was the abundance of seafood and coconuts. Starch based carbohydrate sources were not plentiful due to the hostile climate of the atolls with only the northernmost atolls being viable for constant agriculture. The national crop '' bwabwai'' was only eaten during special celebrations along with pork. file:Babai.jpg, Bwabwai cultivation in

To complement the rather low consumption of carbohydrates in their diets, the I-Kiribati processed the sap and fruit of the abundant Pandanus and Coconut trees into different beverages and foods such as ''te karewe'' (fresh daily sap of the coconut tree) or '' te tuae'' (dried pandanus cake) and ''te kabubu'' (dried pandanus flour) from pandanus fruit pulp and ''te kamaimai'' (coconut sap syrup) from coconut sap. After World War II, rice became a daily staple in most households which is still the case today. Majority of seafood, fish in particular is eaten sashimi style with either coconut sap, soy sauce or vinegar based dressings in use often combined with chillies and onions. Coconut crabs and

mud crabs Mud crab may refer to any crab that lives in or near mud, such as: *''Scylla serrata'' *''Scylla tranquebarica'' *''Scylla paramamosain'' *''Scylla olivacea'' *Members of the family Panopeidae, such as '' Panopeus herbstii'' *Members of the fam ...

are traditionally given to breastfeeding mothers, with the belief that the meat stimulates the production of good quality

breastmilk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates (lactos ...

Sport

Bairiki_National_Stadium,_Tarawa,_Kiribati

Kiribati has competed at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

since 1998 and the Summer Olympics since 2004. It sent three competitors to its first Olympics, two sprinters and a weightlifter. Kiribati won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games when weightlifter

David Katoatau David Katoatau (born July 17, 1984) is an I-Kiribati weightlifter. At the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships he ranked 37th in the 85 kg category, with a total of 281 kg. He ranked 4th in the 85 kg category at the 2008 Oceani ...

won Gold in the 105 kg Group. Football is the most popular sport.

Kiribati Islands Football Federation The Kiribati Islands Football Association, formerly the Kiribati Islands Football Federation, is the governing body of football in Kiribati, established in 1980. It organises the nation's football league, the Kiribati National Championship, as w ...

(KIFF) is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation, but not of world-governing body FIFA. Instead, they are member of

ConIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Women's football All members of CONIFA are encouraged to inv ...

. Kiribati National team has played ten matches, all of which it has lost, and all at the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games wer ...

from 1979 to 2011. The Kiribati football stadium is

Bairiki National Stadium Bairiki National Stadium is located in Bairiki, Kiribati. It is the national stadium and the home of Kiribati's men's and women's national football teams. The official name of the stadium is Reuben K. Uatioa Stadium. The stadium's capacity is ...

, which has a capacity of 2,500. The is home to a number of local sporting teams.

Outside perspectives

Edward Carlyon Eliot Edward Carlyon Eliot, (18 April 1870 – 1 January 1940) was a British Colonial Service administrator. Personal Eliot was the son of Edward Eliot and Elizabeth Harriette (née Watling), and described as a neat, slim man of medium height with ...

, who was Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati & Tuvalu) from 1913 to 1920 describes this period in his book ''Broken Atoms'' (autobiographical reminiscences) Pub. G. Bles, London, 1938. Sir

wrote about his time working in the British colonial service in Kiribati (then the Gilbert Islands) from 1914 to 1932 in two popular books ''A Pattern of Islands'' (1952) and ''Return to the Islands'' (1957). He also undertook academic studies of Gilbertese culture. John Smith, the last governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands wrote his memoir ''An Island in the Autumn'' (2011). J. Maarten Troost's more recent autobiographical experiences in

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

The Sex Lives of Cannibals'' (2004). Alice Piciocchi's illustrated essay, ''Kiribati. Cronache illustrate da una terra (s)perduta'', (2016) Milan: 24 ORE Cultura, also translated into French (2018, éditions du Rouergue), tries to write and portray a comprehensive encyclopaedic book of nowadays Kiribati.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * (also in French) * * * * * * * *

External links

Map of Kiribati
from World Maps
Kiribati National Tourism Office

Parliament of Kiribati

Kiribati National Climate Change Portal

General information

Kiribati
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

.
Kiribati
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' *
Kiribati
from the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

*
Phoenix Islands Protected Area

Paradise Lost? (A recent PBS/NOW program on global warming)

from the Navy Art Gallery * [https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/Birdsguide_Kiribati.pdf Birds of Kiribati] from Conservation International {{Authority control Kiribati, Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations Countries in Micronesia Countries in Oceania British Western Pacific Territories English-speaking countries and territories Island countries Least developed countries Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Member states of the United Nations Small Island Developing States States and territories established in 1979 Christian states World War II sites 1979 establishments in Oceania