Kiribati

Geography

Location: Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, around the equator. Area: 811 sq. km (this in­cludes three island groups—Gilbert Is­lands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands). Principal cities: Tarawa. Tourist at­tractions: Abaiang, Abemama and Butaritari. Time zone: GMT +12 hours.

People

Population: 107,817 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 2.235% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.986 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant (Congregational), some Seventh-day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God. Languages: I-Kiribati, English (official). Infant mortality rate: 46.02 deaths/ 1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 62.45 years, Male 59.41 years, Female 65.63 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Tarawa. National anthem:
Teirake Kaini Kiribati. Government type: Constitutional enirate. Indepen­dence: 12 July 1979 (from UK). Ex-ecutive branch: Chief of state:
President Anote Tong (since 10 July 2003). The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Leg­islative branch: Kiribati has a unicam-eral Parliament or Maneaba Nt Maungatabu. Judicial branch: Court of appeal; High court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are ap­pointed by the president.

Economy

Currency: Kiribati dollar/Australian dol­lar. Currency conversion: Kiribati dollar per Indian rupee—0.0289, Australian dollar per Indian rupee— 0.0293. (June 2007 est.). GDP: Pur­chasing power parity—$209 million (2004 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 0.3% (2005 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$2,800 (2004 est.). Inflation rate: 0.5% (2005 est.). Exports: $17 million f.o.b. (2004). Imports: $62 million c.i.f. (2004). External debt: $10 million (1999 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: None. Roads: 670 km (1999 est.). Airports: Casstdy and Bonriki International Airports. Telephones: 4,500 (2002). Mobile cellular: 600 (2004). Internet users: 2000 (2002). Internet country code: -ki. ISD code: 686.