Kiribati Geography:
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:
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:
total: 0 km
border countries: NA
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: 81 m unnamed location on Banaba
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 (not ratified)
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 |
