Location: Oceania

Area: 810 sq km
Population: 84,000
Capital City: Tarawa
People: Micronesian
Language: English
Religion: Kiribati Protestant Church, Catholic Church, other Christian denominations
Government: republic

GDP: US$55 million
GDP per capita: US$910
Inflation: -0.6%
Major Industries: Fishing and handicrafts.
Major Trading Partners: Australia, Japan, Fiji, NZ, USA

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $79 million, supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources; per capita $800. Real growth rate: 1.5%. Inflation: 2.5%. Unemployment: 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.). Arable land: 0%. Agriculture: copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish. Labor force: 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.). Industries: fishing, handicrafts. Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979). Exports: $35 million (f.o.b., 2002): copra 62%, seaweed, fish. Imports: $83 million (c.i.f., 2002): foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel. Major trading partners: Japan, Thailand, South Korea, France, Australia, Fiji, Japan, Latvia, U.S., New Zealand.

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 3,800 (1999); mobile cellular: n.a. Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1; note: the FM and shortwave stations may be inactive (2002). Radios: 17,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 1 (not reported to be active) (2002). Televisions: 1,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000). Internet users: 1,000 (2000).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 670 km (1999 est.); paved: n.a.; unpaved: n.a. Waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands. Ports and harbors: Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton. Airports: 20 (2002).

International disputes: none.

Geography

Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, consists of three widely separated main groups of southwest Pacific islands: the Gilberts on the equator, the Phoenix Islands to the east, and the Line Islands farther east. Ocean Island, producer of phosphates until it was mined out in 1981, is also included in the 2 million square miles of ocean. Most of the islands of Kiribati are low-lying coral atolls built on a submerged volcanic chain and encircled by reefs.

Government

Republic.

History

Kiribati was first settled by early Austronesian-speaking peoples long before the 1st century A.D. Fijians and Tongans arrived about the 14th century and subsequently merged with the older groups to form the traditional I-Kiribati Micronesian society and culture. The islands were first sighted by British and American ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the first British settlers arrived in 1837. A British protectorate since 1892, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands became a Crown colony in 1915–1916. Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll became a part of the colony in 1919; the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937.

Tarawa and others of the Gilbert group were occupied by Japan during World War II. Tarawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history when Marines landed in Nov. 1943 to dislodge the Japanese defenders. The Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) were separated in 1975 and granted internal self-government by Britain. Kiribati became independent on July 12, 1979.

Kiribati's 1995 act of moving the international date line far to the east, so that it encompassed Kiribati's Line Islands group, courted controversy. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises, was intended to enable Kiribati to become the first country to see the dawn on Jan. 1, 2000, and welcome the new millennium—an event of significance for tourism. In 1999, Kiribati gained UN membership.

In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law enabling it to shut down newspapers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful nongovernment-run newspaper. Anote Tong of the opposition party Boutokaan Te Koaua was elected president in 2003.

Attractions

Abemama

Robert Louis Stevenson dropped by Abemama in 1889 and his wife designed a silly flag for the island (including a shark wearing a crown), which understandably was never used. The British placed the Kingdom of Abemama under their protection in 1892, and Abemamans were lucky enough to have their island declared a Crown Colony in 1911. It nearly became the post-war capital, but Tarawa finally won out because of the easier access through its surrounding reef. War relics are still scattered over the island, and several villages are worth visiting, although none is geared up to take tourists. An unusual species of tiny yellow 'barking' frog is found here, most likely introduced from Tuvalu to keep the mosquito population in check. Abemama is about 80km (50mi) southwest of Tarawa, and you can get there by air or boat from Tarawa.

Butaritari

Butaritari is wet and green, with around 4m (157in) of rain a year, and its name roughly means 'smell of the sea' in I-Kiribati. It lies in the northern Gilberts, placing it just over the line in the North Pacific. Described as 'the land that Time picked up but dropped', Butaritari is not far from Tarawa, but may seem a world away. One of the main features of the island is the fried breadfruit, a different variety from that found elsewhere in Kiribati. You can get around by canoe to nearby Makin Island via a beautiful passage through the reef. The island is littered with war relics, including downed aircraft. Fierce fighting took place here in 1942 when a group of US Marines slipped in behind Japanese lines in a feint operation designed to draw attention from the main front through the Solomons. Hollywood later immortalised the operation in a film that had little similarity to the real events, appropriately enough called Gung Ho, and starring Ronald Reagan. The main village, and the biggest town outside of Tarawa, is Butaritari, and it has a population of around 2000. Butaritari is about 100km (62mi) northwest of Tarawa, and you can get there by ship from Betio or Tarawa, or by air from Tarawa.

Tabiteuea

You'd be wrong if you thought crusades were confined to the 11th century and the Holy Lands. During the 1880s, a force from the Christian north led by Hawaiian pastors descended on the southerners 'in the name of the Book' and killed about 1000 non-believers (and also grabbed some more land for themselves). The name 'Tabiteuea' means 'chiefs are forbidden', and the society of the islands is egalitarian with no nobility. It is the largest and most populous outer island, and parts of Tabiteuea South are among the most beautiful in Kiribati. Traditional culture remains strong, with traditional dancing, singing, and magic still playing a significant role in people's lives. While Tabiteuea is not geared up for tourists, you could contact the Catholic Mission if you are stuck for a place to sleep. Tabiteuea is about 400km (248mi) from Tarawa, and you can reach it by Air Kiribati from Tarawa, or by Kiribati Shipping Corporation from Tarawa.

Tarawa

Tarawa is not a single town but a group of islands surrounded by a coral atoll, and apart from the south (where causeways link the islets), you'll need a boat to navigate around the main features. The international airport is on Bonriki in the southeastern corner, which also hosts the new hospital and fish ponds. The central government offices, Parliament building, President's Office and Residence, central post office, bank, library and archives, and various other official buildings (including the Air Kiribati Travel Agency) are all on Bairiki Island.

Betio Island, probably the most populous in Kiribati, has the port, shipyard and main power station, and it's where you'll go if you need to cool your heels overnight in jail. Betio also has a large number of war relics, after fierce fighting during a major marine assault in November 1943. On Ambo Island the 'greens' of the golf course are rolled sand. Tarawa is one of the most densely populated areas in the Pacific, with a population density similar to Hong Kong's.

Culture

Canoe racing, volleyball and soccer are all popular on the islands, but more traditional pursuits, such as intricate and beautiful dances - particularly on Tabiteuea - an indigenous martial art and making figures out of string are still practised. Also important in Kiribati are chants for one to four voices that honour particular achievements, such as initiation rites. The chants are not normally accompanied by dance.

The I-Kiribati (as locals are known, pronounced 'ee-kee-ree-bus') speak a Micronesian dialect, although English is widely used in official communications. The local alphabet has only 13 letters, with 'ti' standing in for 's'. The missionaries got their talons in early, and the Kiribati Protestant Church today has over 28,000 followers and the Catholic Church close to 40,000. Religion is taken very seriously, and the further south you go the more you should avoid doing anything that looks remotely like work (even darning your beach towel could be frowned upon). Traditional customs and beliefs still survive, which is not surprising for a people who have lived so closely to a force as mysterious as the sea for so long. Belief in the power of magic and the existence of ghosts (anti) is widespread, and small shrines are common in the bush. The clan is the basic building block of society, and authority throughout the islands is invested in the maneaba (meeting house), councils of elderly men who are leaders of a clan.

Islanders have traditionally lived in a subsistence economy based on root crops like taro and sweet potato, coconuts and produce from the sea, but as the cash economy makes inroads this is starting to fall by the wayside. Imported foodstuffs are becoming more common and growing in the popularity and status stakes in rural as well as urban areas. The local drop is the unfortunately named sour toddy, which missionaries frowned upon but were never able to wipe out. It is brewed from the coconut palm, (and, uh, you should drain the beetles out of it before you drink any).

Environment

Kiribati's territorial waters are vast (nearly the size of Argentina and Chile combined), but the stuff where the coconuts grow is only a little larger than New York City. Kiribati comprises three island groups: the Gilbert, Line (Northern and Southern) and Phoenix Islands. They sit bang smack over the equator, with Tuvalu to the south, the Marshall Islands to the north-west and Nauru out west. The 34 islands are all low lying atolls apart from the mine-scarred wasteland of Banaba, which at its highest point hits 87m (285ft). Christmas Island in the Line Islands is the biggest coral atoll in the world, but none of the islands support much vegetation because soil is scarce. Although there are no rivers, most islands have a freshwater lagoon.

Fauna is limited to the Polynesian rat, plentiful sea birds and a couple of species of lizard. Sea life is far more diverse, and the stunning coral reefs fringing most of the islands harbour a huge variety of fish. Seaside scrub is common, mangroves and pandanus grow on some islands, and others support woodland rich in epiphytes and ferns. Coconuts have been planted widely where they don't occur naturally, and several areas are protected or 'closed'. The nature reserves on Malden Island, Phoenix Island and Starbuck Island are larger than 1000 hectares (2470 acres). The gravest threat to protected areas, and to the whole country, is a possible rise in sea levels owing to global warming. Even if the shorelines don't erode or the land doesn't go under, freshwater aquifers could still become salinised.

From November to February the heat can be oppressive and the rains belt down, but for the rest of the year the climate is moderated by trade winds (it's called 'equatorial maritime', if you're into climatology). The rainfall varies from one island group to another, with those in the far north receiving about 3m (118in) annually, while further to the south, such as on Banaba, there can get droughts. Fortunately, tropical cyclones generally tend to pass Kiribati by.