Kiribati Geography Profile 2001

Location

Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, 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: 717 sq km

land: 717 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

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 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: 0%

permanent crops: 51%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 3%

other: 46% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land

NA sq km

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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

20 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