About Kiribati

Kiribati is an island republic in the Central Pacific. It consists of the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line Islands and Banaba, 33 atolls of which 21 are inhabited. The total land area is 811 sq. km, but the islands are spread over an ocean area of a staggering 3.5 million sq. km. The capital Bairiki is on the island of Tarawa.

Kiribati has been an independent republic since 12 July 1979.

Prior to that it was a colony of Great Britain under the name Gilbert Islands. The country is a member of the UN and the British Commonwealth.

Kiribati has approx. 108,000 inhabitants, about 40,000 of whom live on (overpopulated)South Tarawa.

The language is Kiribati (te taetae ni Kiribati), English is the second language.

Due to its coralline soil there is almost no agriculture or livestock breeding.

Resources from the sea are only partially exploited.

The islands are a mere two metres above sea level (except Banaba which is a raised atoll) and are threatened by the expected rising of the sea level as a result of global warming.