KiribatiGeography

Location: Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line Geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E Map references: Oceania Area: total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands Area - comparative: four times the size of Washington, DC Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 1,143 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) Land use: arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68%
other: 46.58% (2001) Irrigated land: NA Natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level Environment - current issues: heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Geography - note: 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru More about Kiribati: Introduction People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues