Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati
note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss
former: Gilbert Islands

Capital:

Tarawa

Location:

Area:

total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands

Population:

100,798 (July 2004 est.)

Languages:

I-Kiribati, English (official)

Economy- Overview:

A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. 

Industries:

fishing, handicrafts

Exports - commodities:

copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel

Exchange rates: