Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an

island country An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

in the

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

subregion of

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

in the central

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

32 atolls and one remote raised coral island,

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 A ...

. Its total land area is dispersed over of

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

. The islands' spread straddles the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

and the

180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian (geography), meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a Geographic coordinate system, geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east ...

. The

International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...

goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching 150°W. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern

Line Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands () are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons, except Vostok and Jarvis) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...

south of Hawaii, into the same day as the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth:

UTC+14 UTC+14:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +14:00. This is the earliest time zone on Earth, meaning that areas in this zone are the first to see a new day, and therefore the first to celebrate a New Year. It is also referred to as ...

. Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

in 1979. The capital,

South Tarawa South Tarawa () is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki and Tanaea in the n ...

, now the most populated area, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

s. These comprise about half the area of

Tarawa Atoll Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''The World ...

. Prior to its independence the country exported

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

, but those mines are no longer viable.

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

and the export of

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

drive much of the economy. Kiribati is one of the

least developed countries The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed b ...

in the world and is highly dependent on international aid for its economy. Kiribati is a member of the

Pacific Community The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's hea ...

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and the

Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS, French language, French: ''Organisation des États d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique'') is a group of countries of the world, countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the ...

, and became a full member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 1999. As an island nation, the islands are vulnerable to climate change and tsunamis. Addressing climate change has been a central part of its international policy, as a member of the

Alliance of Small Island States Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organization of low-lying coastal and small island countries. AOSIS was established in 1990, ahead of the Second World Climate Conference. The main purpose of the alliance is to c ...

Etymology and pronunciation

The name is pronounced , as in the

Gilbertese language Gilbertese (), also known as Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese'' or ''Tungaru''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of t ...

represents an sound. Similarly, the name of its people, the I-Kiribati, is pronounced . FMIB 53006 Gilbert or Kingsmill Islands

The name ''Kiribati'' was adopted upon the country's independence in 1979. It is the Gilbertese rendition of Gilberts, the plural of the English name of the nation's main archipelago, the

. It was named (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for 'Gilbert Islands') in about 1820 by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey, after the British

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Thomas Gilbert. Gilbert and captain

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

sighted some of the islands in 1788, while crossing the "outer passage" route from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

to Canton. Both von Krusenstern's and Duperrey's maps, published in 1824, were written in French. In French, the Northern Islands were until then called and Byron Island was not part of them. In English, the archipelago, particularly the southern part, was often referred to as the ''Kingsmills'' in the 19th century, although the name ''Gilbert Islands'' was used increasingly, including in the Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877 and in the Pacific Order of 1893. The name ''Gilbert'', already in the name of the British protectorate since 1892, was incorporated into the name of the entire

Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976, and was administered as part of ...

(GEIC) from 1916 and was retained after the Ellice Islands became the separate country of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

in 1976. The spelling of Gilberts in the Gilbertese language as may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, but with the meaning of Gilbertese (

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

and language) (see e.g., Hawaiian Board of Missionaries, 1895). The first mention as a dictionary entry of the word ''Kiribati'' as the native name of the country was written down in 1952 by

Ernest Sabatier Ernest Sabatier (24 May 1886 ''–'' 13 February 1965) was a French historian, poet and a Catholic missionary from the Mission of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Oceania. He studied theology at University of Fribourg. Sabatier is known for studying ...

in his comprehensive . The indigenous name often suggested for the Gilbert Islands proper is (see e.g.,

, 1952–1953, or

Arthur Grimble Sir Arthur Francis Grimble, (11 June 1888 – 13 December 1956) was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer. Biography Grimble was educated at Chigwell School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then went to France and Germany ...

, 1989). The rendition ''Kiribati'' for Gilberts was chosen as the official name of the new independent state by the chief minister, Sir

Ieremia Tabai Ieremia Tienang Tabai (born 16 December 1949) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the first president of Kiribati from 1979 to 1991. He previously served in the equivalent role, chief minister, under the colonial government from 1978 ...

and his

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, on such grounds that it was modern, and to indicate the inclusion of islands (e.g., the Phoenix and

), beyond the Tungaru (i.e., Gilbert) chain.

History

Early history

The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melan ...

speaking the same

Oceanic language The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...

, from north to south, including the southernmost Nui, since sometime between 3000 BCMacdonald, Barrie (2001) ''Cinderellas of the Empire: towards a history of Kiribati and Tuvalu'', Institute of Pacific Studies,

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

, Suva, Fiji, , p. 1 and 1300 AD. The area was not completely isolated; later, voyagers from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

introduced some

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

n and

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

n cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage and intense navigation between the islands tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenization. Local oral historians chiefly in the form of lore keepers suggest that the area was first inhabited by a group of seafaring people from

, who were described as being dark-skinned, frizzy-haired, and short in stature. These

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

were then visited by early

Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...

seafarers from the west, a place called Matang, orally described as being tall and fair-skinned. Around AD 1300, a mass departure occurred from

leading to the addition of Polynesian ancestry into the mix of most Gilbertese people. These Samoans later brought strong features of

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austr ...

and culture, creating clans based on their own Samoan traditions and slowly intertwining with the indigenous clans and powers already dominant in Kiribati. Around the 15th century, starkly contrasting systems of governance arose between the northern islands, primarily under chiefly rule (''uea''), and the central and southern islands, primarily under the rule of their council of elders (''unimwaane'').

Tabiteuea Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aa ...

could be an exception as the sole island that is known as maintaining a traditional

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

society. The name Tabiteuea stems from the root phrase ''Tabu-te-Uea'', meaning "chiefs are forbidden". Civil war soon became a factor, with acquisition of land being the main form of conquest. Clans and chiefs began fighting over resources, stimulated by hatred and reignited blood feuds, which had their origins months, years, or even decades before. The turmoil lasted well into the European visitation and colonial era, which led to certain islands decimating their foes with the help of guns and cannon-equipped ships that Europeans provided to some I-Kiribati leaders. The typical military arms of the I-Kiribati at this time were shark tooth-embedded wooden spears, knives, and swords, and garbs of armour fashioned from dense coconut fibre. They chiefly used these instead of the gunpowder and weapons of steel available at the time, because of the strong sentimental value of the equipment handed down through generations. Ranged weapons, such as bows, slings, and javelins, were seldom used;

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

was a prominent skill still practised today, though seldom mentioned because of various taboos associated with it, secrecy being the primary one.

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of ...

's High Chief

Tembinok' Binoka (died 10 November 1891) was the fourth ruler of the State of Abemama, a precolonial polity in the Gilbert Islands. Binoka was an autocrat who derived his wealth from copra and limited trade with foreign merchants to himself. He generally ...

was the last of the dozens of expansionist chiefs of Gilbert Islands of this period, despite Abemama historically conforming to the traditional southern islands' governance of their respective ''unimwaane''. He was immortalised in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's book ''In the South Seas'', which delved into the high chief's character and method of rule during Stevenson's stay in Abemama. The 90th anniversary of his arrival in the Gilbert Islands was chosen to celebrate the independence of Kiribati on 12 July 1979.

Colonial era

Chance visits by European ships occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, while those ships attempted circumnavigations of the world, or sought sailing routes from the south to north Pacific Ocean, a passing trade, whaling the On-The-Line grounds, and labour ships associated with the coercive labour recruitment practices, known as

blackbirding Blackbirding was the trade in indentured labourers from the Pacific in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often described as a form of slavery, despite the British Slavery Abolition Act 1833 banning slavery throughout the British Empire, ...

. This recruitment of Kanaka workers in large numbers during the 19th century, had social, economic, political, religious and cultural consequences. More than 9,000 workers were sent abroad from 1845 to 1895, most of them not returning. The passing trade gave rise to European, Indian, Chinese, Samoan, and other residents from the 1830s; they included

beachcombers ''The Beachcombers'' is a Canadian comedy drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for Canadian English-langu ...

, castaways,H. E. Maude, ''Beachcombers and castaways'', The Journal of the Polynesian Society 73: 3 (1964) 254–293 traders, and missionaries. Dr

Hiram Bingham II Hiram Bingham II (August 16, 1831 – October 25, 1908) was a Protestant Christian missionary to Hawaii and the Gilbert Islands. Life and career Born in Honolulu, Bingham was the sixth child of early missionary Hiram Bingham I (1789&ndas ...

of the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

(ABCFM) arrived on

Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...

in 1857. The Roman Catholic faith was introduced on

Nonouti Nonouti is an atoll and district of Kiribati. The atoll is located in the Southern Gilbert Islands, 38 km north of Tabiteuea, and 250 km south of Tarawa. The atoll is the third largest in the Gilbert Islands and is the island where the R ...

around 1880 by 2 Gilbert islanders, Betero and Tiroi, who had become Christians in Tahiti. Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; ; ) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Jules Chevalier at Issoudun, France, in the Diocese of Bourges. The motto of the Missionaries of the S ...

arrived on Nonouti in 1888. The Protestant missionaries of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

(LMS) were also active in the southern Gilberts. On 15 October 1870, Rev. Samuel James Whitmee of the LMS arrived at

Arorae Arorae (spelling variants: Arorai, Arurai; also known as Hope Island or Hurd Island“Captain Patterson, commanding the brig ''Elizabeth'', called it Hope Island: “Hope Island, in 2° 43′ S and 176° 56′ 25″ E, was the first discovery, t ...

, and later that month he visited Tamana,

Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, Gilbert Islands, Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar t ...

and Beru. In August 1872, George Pratt of the LMS visited the islands. In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned the "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

in the German sphere of influence, while

(known to Europeans as Ocean Island) and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence. In 1892, local Gilbertese authorities (an ''uea'', a chief from the Northern Gilbert Group, and ''atun te boti'' or head of clan) on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain Edward Davis commanding HMS ''Royalist'' of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

declaring them part of a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

, along with the nearby

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

. They were administered by a

resident commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such a ...

based first on Makin Islands (1893–95), then in

Betio Betio is the name of both an island and a township within the Tarawa Atoll, part of the Republic of Kiribati. Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and it is also the country's primary port. Betio is located on ...

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Western Pacific High Commission The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was a colonial entity created in 1877 for the administration of a series of Pacific islands in Oceania under a single representative of the British Crown, styled the High Commissioner for the Weste ...

(WPHC) based in Fiji. Banaba was added to the protectorate in 1900, because of the

phosphate rock Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non- detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentox ...

of its soil (discovered in 1900). This discovery and the mining provided a significant amount of revenue, in the form of taxes and duties, to the WPHC. The conduct of

William Telfer Campbell William Telfer Campbell (1863 - 1929), born in India, was the second Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands protectorate, from 1895 to 1909. Campbell had started his career in the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was twice the ...

, the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts and Ellice Islands of 1896 to 1908, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became the subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy. In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938),credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published work by many of the chief politi ...

'' newspaper described the maladministration of W. Telfer Campbell and challenged the impartiality of Arthur Mahaffy, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. The anonymous correspondent also criticised the operations of the

Pacific Phosphate Company John T. Arundel (1 September 1841 – 30 November 1919) was an English entrepreneur who was instrumental in the development of the mining of phosphate rock on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Banaba (Ocean Island). Williams & Macdonald (1985 ...

on Banaba. Boeing 314 Clipper in cruise

The islands became the

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a British protectorate, protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a crown colony, colony until 1 January 1 ...

in 1916. The Northern Line Islands, including Christmas Island (

Kiritimati Kiritimati (), also known as Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonol ...

), were added to the colony in 1919, and the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

were added in 1937 with the purpose of a

Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western Pacific Ocean and was the last attempt at human colonisation within the British Empire. History Conceived by Henry E. "Harry" Maude, lands commissioner of the Gilbert and El ...

. On 12 July 1940,

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

Airways' '' American Clipper'' landed at

Canton Island Canton Island (also known as Kanton or Abariringa), previously known as Mary Island, Mary Balcout's Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, northernmost, and , the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It i ...

for the first time during a flight from

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Sir

was a cadet administrative officer based at Tarawa (1913–1919) and became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1926. Stamp Gilbert Ellice Islands 1939 3p

In 1902, the Pacific Cable Board laid the first trans-Pacific telegraph cable from

Bamfield Bamfield is a community that is surrounded by Crown Land, First Nation Lands belonging to the Huu-ay-aht Nations, and portions of the Pacific Rim National Park, located on Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The commu ...

, British Columbia, to

Fanning Island Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island, is an atoll that is part of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean and part of the island nation of Kiribati. The land area is , and the population in 2015 was 2,315. The maximum elevation is abou ...

(Tabuaeran) in the Line Islands, and from Fiji to Fanning Island, thus completing the

All Red Line The All Red Line was a system of electrical telegraphs that linked much of the British Empire. It was inaugurated on 31 October 1902. The informal name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or p ...

, a series of telegraph lines circumnavigating the globe completely within the British Empire. The location of Fanning Island, one of the closest formations to Hawaii, led to its annexation by the British Empire in 1888. Nearby candidates including

Palmyra Island Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii ...

were not favoured due to the lack of adequate landing sites. The United States eventually incorporated the Northern Line Islands into its territories, and did the same with the

, which lie between Gilberts and the Line Islands, including Howland, Jarvis, and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

islands, thus causing a territorial dispute. That was eventually resolved and they finally became part of Kiribati under the

Treaty of Tarawa On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. More formally, the treaty is entit ...

After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Butaritari Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on th ...

and Tarawa, and others of the Northern Gilbert group, were occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1943.

became an airfield and supply base. The expulsion of the Japanese forces in late 1943 involved one of the bloodiest battles in

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

history. Marines landed in November 1943 and the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...

ensued. As the headquarters of the colony, Banaba was bombed, evacuated and occupied by Japan in 1942 and not freed until 1945, after the massacre of all but one of the Gilbertese on the island by the Japanese forces.

Funafuti Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that serves as the capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 6 ...

then hosted the provisional headquarters of the colony from 1942 to 1946, when Tarawa returned to host the headquarters. At the end of 1945, most of the remaining inhabitants of Banaba, repatriated from

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Caroline Islands archipelago, and States of Micronesia, state within the Federated States of Micronesia. It includes the main island of Kosrae, traditionally known as Ual ...

and Tarawa, were relocated to

Rabi Island Rabi (pronounced ) is a volcanic island in northern Fiji. It is an outlier to Taveuni (5 kilometers west), in the Vanua Levu Group. It covers an area of 66.3 square kilometers, reaching a maximum elevation of 463 meters and has a shoreline of 46.2 ...

, an island of Fiji that the British government had acquired in 1942 for this purpose. On 1 January 1953, the British Western Pacific High Commissioner of the colony was transferred from Fiji to the new capital of

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...

, to the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, S ...

, with the Gilberts' Resident Commissioner still located in Tarawa. Further military operations in the colony occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s when

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

was used by the United States and United Kingdom for

nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...

including

hydrogen bombs A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

. Institutions of internal self-rule were established on Tarawa from about 1967. The Ellice Islands requested their separation from the rest of the colony in 1974 and were granted their own internal self-rule institutions. The separation entered into force on 1 January 1976. In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent state of

.Ridgell, Reilly (1995) ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia''. 3rd Edition. Honolulu: Bess Press. . p. 95.

Independence

The Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Then, in September, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Islands, in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati ( ratified in 1983). Although the indigenous

Gilbertese Gilbertese (), also known as Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese'' or ''Tungaru''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of th ...

name for the Gilbert Islands proper is "Tungaru", the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese spelling of "Gilberts", because it was more modern and as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of Banaba, the Line Islands, and the

. The last two archipelagoes were never initially occupied by Gilbertese until the British authorities, and later the republic's government, resettled Gilbertese there under resettlement schemes. In 1982, the first elections since independence were held. A no-confidence vote provoked another election in 1983. In the post-independence period,

overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural ...

has been an issue, at least in British and aid organisations' eyes. In 1988, an announcement was made that 4,700 residents of the main island group would be resettled onto less populated islands. In September 1994,

Teburoro Tito Teburoro Tito (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician and diplomat who served as the third president of Kiribati from 1994 to 2003. Early life Teburoro Tito was born in Tanaeang, a village in Tabiteuea North, on 25 August 1952 or 1953. ...

from the opposition was elected president. In 1995, Kiribati unilaterally moved the

far to the east to encompass the Line Islands group, so that the country would no longer be divided by the date line. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises, was intended to allow businesses across the expansive territory to keep the same business week. This also enabled Kiribati to become the first country to see the dawn of the

third millennium In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 ( MMM), spanning the 21st to 30th ...

, an event of significance for tourism. Tito was re-elected in 1998. In 1999, Kiribati became a full member of the United Nations, 20 years after independence. In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law that enabled the government to shut down newspaper publishers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful non-government-run newspaper. President Tito was re-elected in 2003 but was removed from office in March 2003 by a no-confidence vote and replaced by a Council of State.

Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952) is an I-Kiribati environmental activist and former politician for the Pillars of Truth party with half Chinese heritage, who served as the fourth president of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in ...

of the opposition party

Boutokaan Te Koaua Pillars of Truth (; BK or BTK) was a political party in Kiribati, until 2020 when it merged with the Kiribati First Party to create the Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party. The party was created through a split in the National Progressive Party, ...

was elected to succeed Tito in July 2003. He was re-elected in 2007 and in 2011. In June 2008, Kiribati officials asked Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. Kiribati is expected to be the first country to lose all its land territory to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. In June 2008, Kiribati President Anote Tong said that the country had reached "the point of no return." He added, "To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that." In January 2012, Anote Tong was re-elected for a third and last successive term. In early 2012, the government of Kiribati acquired the 2,200-hectare Natoavatu Estate on the second largest island of Fiji,

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...

. At the time it was widely reported that the government planned to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere. In May 2014, the Office of the President confirmed the purchase of some 5,460 acres of land on Vanua Levu at a cost of 9.3 million Australian dollars. In March 2016,

Taneti Maamau Taneti Maamau (born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the fifth president of Kiribati since 2016. A member of the Tobwaan Kiribati Party, his policies are targeted at strengthening Kiribati's weak economy and alle ...

was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

and took office as the fifth President of Kiribati. In June 2020, President Maamau won

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

for a second four-year term. President Maamau was considered pro-China and he supported closer ties with Beijing. On 16 November 2021, the Kiribati government announced it would expose the world's largest marine protected area to commercial fishing. The

2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis A constitutional crisis began in Kiribati when the Cabinet of Kiribati suspended two of its High Court Justices. High Court Judge David Lambourne was suspended in May 2022 while Chief Justice Bill Hastings was suspended on 30 June 2022, both ov ...

started with the suspension of all 5 major Justices of the

judiciary of Kiribati The Judiciary of Kiribati is the branch of the Government of Kiribati which interprets and applies the laws of the country. In addition to the Constitution of Kiribati and the corpus of laws, the laws of Kiribati include customary law, which the c ...

. In 2020, Kiribati’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with most of the COVID-19 responses of Oceania island nations, was to impose strict limits on tourism and commercial travel. Kiribati reported that it remained essentially COVID-free (two cases) until January 2022 when the first commercial international flight in two years included 36 passengers who tested positive. In 2024, 5,085 Coronavirus Cases were reported which causes 24 deaths, while 2,703 were reported to have recovered. On 29 January 2023, Kiribati confirmed its intention to rejoin the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

, ending a bitter two-year leadership split.

Politics

The

Constitution of Kiribati The Constitution of Kiribati is the Constitution, supreme law of Kiribati, which was implemented in 1979. The constitution was subsequently amended in the years 1995, 2016, and 2018. The constitution established the Bill of rights, principles of th ...

, promulgated 12 July 1979, provides for free and open elections in a

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

democratic republic. The executive branch consists of a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

(''te Beretitenti''), a

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and a

. The president, who is also chief of the cabinet, is directly elected by the citizens, after the legislature nominates three or four persons from among its members to be candidates in the ensuing presidential election. The president is limited to serving three four-year terms, and remains a member of the assembly. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice-president, and 13 ministers (appointed by the president) who are also members of parliament. The legislative branch is the unicameral ''

Maneaba ni Maungatabu The House of Assembly (, ) is the sole chamber of the Parliament of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community ...

'' (House of Assembly). Its members are elected, including by constitutional mandate, a nominated representative of the

Banaban people BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...

(Banaba, former Ocean Island), in addition to, until 2016, the attorney general, who served as an ''ex officio'' member from 1979 to 2016. Legislators serve for a four-year term. The constitutional provisions governing administration of justice are similar to those in other former British colonies in that the judiciary is free from governmental interference. The judicial branch is made up of the High Court (in Betio) and the Court of Appeal. The president appoints the presiding judges.The Constitution of Kiribati
(PDF). ''Constitutionne''. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). Retrieved 7 September 2022. Local government is through island councils with elected members. Local affairs are handled in a manner similar to town meetings in colonial America. Island councils make their own estimates of revenue and expenditure and generally are free from central government controls. There are a total of 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Each inhabited island has its own council. Kiribati is currently divided into 5 districts: Northern Kiribati, Central Kiribati, Southern Kiribati, South Tarawa, and Line & Phoenix. Kiribati has formal political parties but their organisation is quite informal. Ad hoc opposition groups tend to coalesce around specific issues. There is universal suffrage at age 18. Today the main political parties are the

Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party The Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party (BKM) was a political party in Kiribati from the merger of the Kiribati First Party and Boutokaan te Koaua in 2020. History The party was established in May 2020, after the merger of the Pillars of Truth wi ...

, former ''Boutokaan te Koaua'', and

Tobwaan Kiribati Party The Tobwaan Kiribati Party (, TKP) is a political party in Kiribati. History The party was established in January 2016 as a merger of the Maurin Kiribati Party and the United Coalition Party. The two parties had won 19 of the 44 elected seats i ...

Foreign relations

Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Fiji. The first three of these provide the bulk of the country's foreign aid.

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and Japan also have specified-period licences to fish in Kiribati's waters. There are three resident diplomatic missions headquartered in

: the Embassies of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(Taiwan) until 2019, replaced by

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 2020; and the High Commissions of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Since 2022, there have been talks of opening a

US Embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...

. The current U.S. Embassy responsible for Kiribati is located in Suva,

. In November 1999, Kiribati agreed to allow Japan's

National Space Development Agency The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, ...

to lease land on

(formerly Christmas Island) for 20 years, on which to build a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...

. The agreement stipulated that Japan was to pay US$840,000 per year and would also pay for any damage to roads and the environment. A Japanese-built downrange

tracking station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

operates on Kiritimati and an abandoned airfield on the island was designated as the landing strip for a proposed reusable unmanned space shuttle called

HOPE-X HOPE (H-II Orbiting Plane) was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s. It was positioned for most of its lifetime as one of the main Japanese cont ...

. HOPE-X, however, was eventually cancelled by Japan in 2003. As one of the world's most vulnerable nations to the

effects of global warming Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall warming trend, changes to precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather. As ...

, Kiribati has been an active participant in international diplomatic efforts relating to climate change, most importantly the

UNFCCC The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

conferences of the parties (COP). Kiribati is a member of the

(AOSIS), an intergovernmental organisation of low-lying coastal and small island countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of

Small Island Developing States The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing country, developing countries which are small island country, island countries and small states that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include s ...

(SIDS) to address global warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward the first draft text in the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

negotiations as early as 1994. In 2009, President Tong attended the

Climate Vulnerable Forum The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is a global partnership of The Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20), countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. The forum addresses the negative effects of climate change as a ...

( V11) in the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, with 10 other countries that are vulnerable to climate change, and signed the Bandos Island declaration on 10 November 2009, pledging to show moral leadership and commence greening their economies by voluntarily committing to achieving

carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

. In November 2010, Kiribati hosted the

Tarawa Climate Change Conference The Tarawa Climate Change Conference (TCCC), was held in the Republic of Kiribati from 9 to 10 November 2010. The purpose of the conference was to support the initiative of the President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, to hold a consultative forum betwe ...

(TCCC) to support the president of Kiribati's initiative to hold a consultative forum between vulnerable states and their partners. The conference strove to create an enabling environment for multi-party negotiations under the auspices of the UNFCCC. The conference was a successor event to the Climate Vulnerable Forum. The ultimate objective of TCCC was to reduce the number and intensity of fault lines between parties to the COP process, explore elements of agreement between the parties and thereby to support Kiribati's and other parties' contribution to COP16 held in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. In 2013, President Tong spoke of climate-change induced

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

as "inevitable". "For our people to survive, then they will have to migrate. Either we can wait for the time when we have to move people en masse or we can prepare them—beginning from now ..." In New York in 2014, per ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', President Tong told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' that "according to the projections, within this century, the water will be higher than the highest point in our lands". In 2014, President Tong finalised the purchase of a stretch of land on

, one of the larger Fiji islands, 2,000 km away. A move described by Tong as an "absolute necessity" should the country's territory be completely submerged under water. In 2013, attention was drawn to a claim of a Kiribati man of being a "climate change refugee" under the

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is and sets out the rights of individuals ...

(1951). However, this claim was determined by the New Zealand High Court to be untenable. The New Zealand Court of Appeal also rejected the claim in a 2014 decision. On further appeal, the New Zealand Supreme Court confirmed the earlier adverse rulings against the application for refugee status, but rejected the proposition "that environmental degradation resulting from climate change or other natural disasters could never create a pathway into the Refugee Convention or protected person jurisdiction". In 2017, Kiribati signed the UN

treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. I ...

. On 20 September 2019, the government of Kiribati restored its diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China and simultaneously stopped its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. China offered a 737 aircraft and ferries to Kiribati for the decision, according to Taiwan's foreign minister,

Joseph Wu Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954), also known by his English name Joseph Wu, is a Taiwanese political scientist and diplomat currently serving as secretary-general of the National Security Council since 2024. He was formerly the foreign mi ...

Peace Corps

From 1973 until 2008, a total of almost 500 US Peace Corps volunteers were based on the Islands, as many as 45 in a given year. Activities included assisting in the planning, design and construction of wells, libraries, and other infrastructure, and agricultural, environmental, and community health education. In 2006, volunteer placement was significantly scaled down due to the reduction of consistent air transportation to the outer islands; it was later ended because the associated ability to provide medical care to volunteers could not be assured. In July 2022, US Vice President Harris announced plans to build a new embassy in Kiribati and Tonga and reestablish the Peace Corps presence in the region.

Law enforcement and military

Law enforcement in Kiribati The only State disciplined forces in Kiribati are a unified national police force, with prison and quarantine powers, and the coast guard. National security, Defense assistance is provided by Australia and New Zealand. The police force does not ...

is carried out by the Kiribati Police Service, which is responsible for all law enforcement and paramilitary duties for the island nation. There are police posts located on all of the islands. The police have one patrol boat, the RKS ''Teanoai II''. The main prison in Kiribati is located in

, named the Walter Betio Prison. There is also a prison in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Male

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

is illegal in Kiribati, with a penalty up to 14 years in prison, according to a historical British law. However, this law is not enforced. Kiribati has not yet followed the lead of the United Kingdom, following its Wolfenden report, to decriminalise acts of male homosexuality, beginning with provisions in the UK's Sexual Offences Act 1957. Female homosexuality is legal, but lesbians may face violence and discrimination. However, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited.

Administrative divisions

There are 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Kiribati can be geographically divided into three

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

es or groups of islands, which have no administrative functions. They are: *

, in one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth (was the largest from 2008 to 2010) *

The original

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

before independence were: *

(Ocean Island) *

Tarawa Atoll Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''The World ...

Northern Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

Central Gilbert Island The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

* Southern Gilbert Islands *

Four of the former districts (including Tarawa) lie in the Gilbert Islands, where most of the country's population lives. Five of the Line Islands are uninhabited (

Malden Island Malden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the 19th century, is a low, arid, uninhabited atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati. The lagoo ...

Starbuck Island Starbuck Island (or Volunteer Island) is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, Pacific, and is part of the Central Line Islands of Kiribati. Its former names include "Barren Island", "Coral Queen Island", "Hero Island", " ...

, Millennium Island,

Vostok Island Vostok Island is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Line Islands belonging to Kiribati. Other names for the island include Anne Island, Bostock Island, Leavitts Island, Reaper Island, Wostock Island or Wostok I ...

and

Flint Island Flint Island is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati. In 2014 the I-Kiribati government established a exclusion zone around each of the southern Line Isla ...

). The Phoenix Islands are uninhabited except for Kanton, and have no representation. Banaba itself is sparsely inhabited now. There is also a non-elected representative of the Banabans on

in Fiji. Each of the 21 inhabited islands has its own local council that takes care of daily affairs. There is one council for each inhabited island, with two exceptions: Tarawa Atoll has three councils:

Town Council, (TUC) (for the rest of

) and Eutan Tarawa Council (ETC) (for

North Tarawa North Tarawa () is the string of islets in the Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati, from Buariki (Tarawa), Buariki at the northern tip of Tarawa atoll to Buota in the South, with a combined population of 6,629 . It is administratively separate from ...

); and

has two councils.

Geography

Kiribati consists of 32 atolls and one solitary island (

), extending into the eastern and western

hemispheres Hemisphere may refer to: In geometry * Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object * A hemispheres of Earth, hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphe ...

, as well as the northern and southern hemispheres. Its extensive

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

(EEZ) covers three, non-contiguous, traditional geographic subregions: Banaba (

n-Micronesian area), the Gilbert Islands (Micronesia) and the Line and Phoenix Islands (

). The groups of islands are: * Banaba: an isolated island between

and the Gilbert Islands * Gilbert Islands: sixteen atolls located approximately north of

* Phoenix Islands: eight atolls and coral islands located approximately southeast of the Gilberts * Line Islands: eight atolls and one reef, located approximately east of the Gilberts Banaba (or Ocean Island) is a raised-coral island. It was once a rich source of

s, but was exhausted in mining before independence. The rest of the land in Kiribati consists of the sand and reef rock islets of atolls or coral islands, which rise only one or two meters above sea level. The soil is thin and

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

. It has a low water-holding capacity and low organic matter and nutrient content—except for calcium, sodium, and magnesium. Banaba is one of the least suitable places for agriculture in the world.

(previously Christmas Island) in the Line Islands has the largest land area of any atoll in the world. Based on a 1995 realignment of the

, the Line Islands were the first area to enter into a new year, including the year 2000. For that reason, Caroline Island was renamed Millennium Island in 1997.

Environmental issues

According to the

Pacific Regional Environment Programme The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is an intergovernmental organisation based in Apia, Samoa with more than 90 staff members. The organisation is held accountable by the governments and administrations of the Pa ...

(previously South Pacific Regional Environment Programme), two small uninhabited Kiribati islets,

Tebua Tarawa Tebua Tarawa was an island of the Republic of Kiribati. It was part of the Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,

and

Abanuea Abanuea was an island of the Republic of Kiribati. It was a subdivision of the main Tarawa Island. The name translates to "land of Chiefs". Abanuea and Tebua Tarawa Tebua Tarawa was an island of the Republic of Kiribati. It was part of the Tar ...

, disappeared underwater in 1999. The sea level at

, in the 50 years between 1972 and 2022, has risen . The United Nations

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

predicts that sea levels will rise by approximately by 2100 due to

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased

soil salination Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American English). Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salinization can be caused by natural ...

and will be largely submerged. The exposure of Kiribati to changes in sea levels is exacerbated by the

Pacific decadal oscillation The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is a robust, recurring pattern of ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the mid-latitude Pacific basin. The PDO is detected as warm or cool surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, north of 20°N. O ...

, which is a climate switch phenomenon that results in changes from periods of

La Niña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

to periods of

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

. This has an effect on sea levels. For example, in 2000, there was a switch from periods of downward pressure of El Niño on sea levels to an upward pressure of La Niña on sea levels, which upward pressure causes more frequent and higher high tide levels. The

Perigean spring tide A perigean spring tide is a tide that occurs three or four times per year when a perigee (the point nearest Earth reached by the Moon during its 27.3-day elliptic orbit) coincides with a spring tide (when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are nearly ...

(often called a

king tide A king tide is an especially high spring tide, especially the perigean spring tides which occur three or four times a year. King tide is not a scientific term, nor is it used in a scientific context. The expression originated in Australia, Ne ...

) can result in seawater flooding low-lying areas of the islands of Kiribati. Onotoa

The

atolls An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most of ...

and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

islands can respond to changes in sea-level. Paul Kench at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the

South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an inter-governmental regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. In 2010, its functions had been transferred to ...

in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of atolls and reef islands in the central Pacific. Kiribati was mentioned in the study, and Webb and Kench found that the three major urbanised islands in Kiribati—Betio, Bairiki and Nanikai—increased by 30% (36 hectares), 16.3% (5.8 hectares) and 12.5% (0.8 hectares), respectively. The study by Paul Kench and Arthur Webb recognises that the islands are extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, and concluded that: "This study did not measure vertical growth of the island surface nor does it suggest there is any change in the height of the islands. Since land height has not changed the vulnerability of the greater part of the land area of each island to submergence due to sea level rise is also unchanged and these low-lying atolls remain immediately and extremely vulnerable to inundation or sea water flooding." The Climate Change in the Pacific Report of 2011 describes Kiribati as having a low risk of

cyclones In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

. In March 2015 Kiribati experienced flooding and destruction of seawalls and coastal infrastructure as the result of

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second List of the most intense tropical cyclones, most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of ...

, a Category 5 cyclone that devastated

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. Kiribati remains exposed to the risk that cyclones can strip the low-lying islands of their vegetation and soil. Gradual sea-level rise also allows for coral polyp activity to raise the atolls with the sea level. However, if the increase in sea level occurs at a rate faster than coral growth, or if polyp activity is damaged by

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...

, then the resilience of the atolls and reef islands is less certain. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that the climate crisis has worsened human rights conditions moderately (4.8 out of 6) in Kiribati. Human rights experts reported that the climate crisis has compromised access to food and clean water, as well as women's rights, housing security and cultural integrity. The

Kiribati Adaptation Program The Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP) is a US$5.5 million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government of Kiribati with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Progra ...

(KAP), started in 2003, is a US$5.5 million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government of Kiribati with the support of the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (P ...

(GEF), the

, the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

, and the Japanese government. Australia later joined the coalition, donating US$1.5 million to the effort. The program aims to take place over six years, supporting measures that reduce Kiribati's vulnerability to the effects of

and sea level rise by raising awareness of climate change, assessing and protecting available water resources, and managing inundation. At the start of the Adaptation Program, representatives from each of the inhabited atolls identified key climatic changes that had taken place over the past 20–40 years and proposed coping mechanisms to deal with these changes under four categories of urgency of need. The program is now focusing on the country's most vulnerable sectors in the most highly populated areas. Initiatives include improving water supply management in and around Tarawa;

coastal management Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

protection measures such as mangrove re-plantation and protection of public infrastructure; strengthening laws to reduce coastal erosion; and population settlement planning to reduce personal risks. The government has taken specific action to ensure

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

, as sea level rise, drought, and overfishing have created food and water shortages. This has involved diversifying food sources and ensuring existing resources are managed sustainably. The issue of

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

has also been a key challenge for Kiribati as it hurts both its marine biodiversity and its economy that relies primarily on tourism and fishery. As a result, the government of Kiribati, more specifically the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) which forms part of the Kiribati Government's Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development, has made efforts to tackle this issue nationally through environment acts and state policy papers. To a further extent, it has also recognized the global nature of plastic pollution, and consequently, has promoted international cooperation and multilateral solutions. This is notably observable during the current negotiations of the Global Plastic Pollution Treaty planned to be finally drafted by the end of 2024.

Climate

Kiribati has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

( Af). From April to October, there are predominant northeastern winds and stable temperatures close to . From November to April, western gales bring rain. The Kiribati wet season (''te Auu-Meang''), also known as the

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

(TC) (''te Angibuaka'') season, starts from November to April every year. Kiribati therefore typically experiences more extreme weather events associated with

tropical disturbance Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few classifications are used officially by the meteorologica ...

s or tropical cyclones during ''te Auu-Meang''. Tropical cyclones rarely develop or pass along the equator where Kiribati is located, but Kiribati has historically been impacted by distant tropical cyclones. The impacts were observed while the systems were still in their development stages (Tropical Low/disturbance) or even before they reached Tropical cyclone category. The fair season starts when ''Ten Rimwimata'' (

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by ...

) appears in the sky after sunset, from May to November, when more gentle winds and currents and less rain. Then towards December, when ''Nei Auti'' (

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an Asterism (astronomy), asterism of an open cluster, open star cluster containing young Stellar classification#Class B, B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Tau ...

) replaces Antares, the season of sudden westerly winds and more heavy rain discourages any far travel from island to island. Kiribati does not experience cyclones but effects may occasionally be experienced during cyclone seasons affecting nearby Pacific Island countries such as Fiji. Precipitation varies significantly between islands. For example, the annual average is 3,000 mm (120 in) in the north and 500 mm (20 in) in the south of the Gilbert Islands. Most of these islands are in the dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic zone and experience prolonged droughts.

Ecology

Kiribati contains three ecosystems:

Central Polynesian tropical moist forests The Central Polynesian tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Polynesia. It includes the northern group of the Cook Islands, the Line Islands in Kiribati, and Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, Palm ...

Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests The Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Micronesia. It includes the Marshall Islands, Banaba and the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati, Nauru, and Wake Island, a possession of the ...

, and

Western Polynesian tropical moist forests The Western Polynesian tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Polynesia. It includes Tuvalu, the Phoenix Islands in Kiribati, Tokelau, and Howland and Baker islands, which are possessions of the ...

. Because of the relatively young geological age of the islands and atolls and the high level of

, the flora of Kiribati is somewhat unhealthy. The Gilbert Islands contain about 83 indigenous and 306 introduced plants, whereas the corresponding numbers for Line and Phoenix Islands are 67 and 283. None of these species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

, and about half of the indigenous ones have a limited distribution and have become endangered or nearly extinct due to human activities such as phosphate mining.

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

palms and

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

trees are the most common ''wild'' plants,Kiribati
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' whereas the five most cultivated crops but the traditional ''Babai'', ''

Cyrtosperma merkusii ''Cyrtosperma merkusii'' or giant swamp taro, is a crop grown throughout Oceania and into South and Southeast Asia. It is a riverine and "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." There are no demonstrably ...

'', are imported

Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage (''Brassica rapa'', subspecies ''pekinensis'' and ''chinensis'') is either of two cultivar groups of leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group (bok choy). These v ...

, pumpkin, tomato, watermelon and cucumber. Over eighty percent of the population participates in either farming or fishing.

Seaweed farming Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of aquaculture, cultivating and harvesting seaweed. In its simplest form farmers gather from natural beds, while at the other extreme farmers fully control the crop's biological life cycle, life c ...

is an important part of the economy , with two major species ''Eucheuma alvarezii'' and ''Eucheuma spinosium'' introduced to the local lagoons from the Philippines in 1977. It competes with a collection of the black-lipped pearl oyster (''

Pinctada margaritifera ''Pinctada margaritifera'', commonly known as the black-lip pearl oyster, is a species of pearl oyster, a saltwater mollusk, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pteriidae. This species is common in the Indo-Pacific within tropical coral ree ...

'') and shellfish, which are dominated by the strombid gastropod (''

Strombus luhuanus ''Conomurex luhuanus'', commonly known as the strawberry conch or tiger conch, is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Strombidae, the true conchs.Rosenberg, G. (2011). Co ...

'') and Anadara cockles (''

Anadara ''Anadara'' is a genus of seawater, saltwater bivalves, ark clams, in the family (biology), family Arcidae. It is also called ''Scapharca''. This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous period to the Quaternary period (age range ...

uropigimelana''), whereas the stocks of the giant clam (''

Tridacna gigas ''Tridacna gigas'', the giant clam, is the best-known species of the giant clam genus ''Tridacna''. Giant clams are the largest living bivalve molluscs. Several other species of "giant clam" in the genus ''Tridacna'' are often misidentified as ...

'') have been largely exhausted. Kiribati has a few land mammals, none being indigenous or endemic. They include the Polynesian rat (''

Rattus exulans The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), or , is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, the Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia ...

''), dogs, cats and pigs. Among the 75 bird species, the

Bokikokiko The bokikokiko, Kiritimati reed warbler or Christmas Island warbler (''Acrocephalus aequinoctialis'') is a species of warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is found only on Kiritimati and Washington Island (Kiribati). The population size of ...

(''Acrocephalus aequinoctialis'') is endemic to

. There are 600–800 species of inshore and pelagic finfish, some 200 species of corals and about 1000 species of shellfish. Fishing mostly targets the family

Scombridae The mackerel, tuna, and bonito family, Scombridae, includes many of the most important and familiar food fishes. The family consists of 51 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies. All species are in the subfamily Scombrinae, except the but ...

, particularly the

skipjack tuna The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Katsuwonus''. It is also known as katsuo, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna or victor fish. ...

and

yellowfin tuna The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye ...

as well as

flying fish The Exocoetidae are a family (biology), family of Saltwater fish, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the order (biology), order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven genus, ge ...

(''Cypselurus'' spp.). Dogs were already accompanying the first inhabitants but were re-introduced by European settlers: they have continued to grow in numbers and are roaming in traditional packs, particularly around South Tarawa.

Economy

Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable

deposits on

were exhausted at the time of independence.

Copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. Kiribati has the lowest GDP out of any sovereign state in

, and is considered one of the

in the world. In one form or another, Kiribati gets a large portion of its income from abroad. Examples include fishing licences, development assistance, workers'

remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...

s, especially the seafarers issued from Marine Training Centre, and a few tourists. Given Kiribati's limited domestic production ability, it must import nearly all of its essential foodstuffs and manufactured items; it depends on these external sources of income for financing. The economy of Kiribati benefits from international development assistance programs. The multilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(A$9 million), the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(A$3.7 million), UNICEF, and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(A$100,000). The bilateral donors providing development assistance in 2009 were Australia (A$11 million), Japan (A$2 million), New Zealand (A$6.6 million),

(A$10.6 million), and other donors providing A$16.2 million, including technical assistance grants from the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

. The major donors in 2010/2011 were Australia (A$15 million), Taiwan (A$11 million); New Zealand (A$6 million), the

(A$4 million) and the

. In 1956,

established a

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

to act as a store of wealth for the country's earnings from

mining. In 2008, the

Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund The Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (RERF) is the sovereign wealth fund of the Pacific island republic of Kiribati. The RERF was created in 1956 to act as a store of wealth for the country's earnings from phosphate mining, which at one time ac ...

was valued at US$400 million. The RERF assets declined from A$637 million (420% of GDP) in 2007 to A$570.5 million (350% of GDP) in 2009 as the result of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and exposure to failed Icelandic banks. In addition, draw-downs were made by the government of Kiribati to finance budgetary shortfalls during this period. In May 2011, the IMF country report assessment of the economy of Kiribati is that "After two years of contraction, the economy recovered in the second half of 2010 and inflation pressure dissipated. It is estimated to have grown by 1.75% for the year. Despite a weather-related drop in copra production, private sector activity appears to have picked up, especially in retail. Tourist arrivals rebounded by 20% compared to 2009, although from a very low base. Despite the rise in world food and fuel prices, inflation has bounced from 2008 crisis-highs into negative territory, reflecting the strong appreciation of the Australian dollar, which is used as the domestic currency, and a decline in the world price of rice. Credit growth in the overall economy declined in 2009 as economic activity stalled. But it started to pick up in the second half of 2010 as the recovery gained traction". A major Australian bank, ANZ, maintains a presence on Kiribati with a number of branches and ATM units.

Ornamental fish

Kiribati is a major exporter of hand-caught

ornamental fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...

. There are eight licensed operators based on

(Christmas Island). At the end of 2005, the number of pet fish exported was 110,000. All operators have a land-based facility but fish are kept in containers on the reef until the day before the shipment. This is to reduce the running cost and the mortality of pet fish to be exported. The flame angelfish (''Centropyge loriculus'') is the major species exported.

Transport

Kiribati has had two domestic airlines:

Air Kiribati Air Kiribati (pronounced ) is the flag carrier of the Republic of Kiribati and operates scheduled passenger services to 20 atolls spread over an area of . It is headquartered at Bonriki International Airport on the island of Tarawa in the ...

and

Coral Sun Airways Coral Sun Airways is the younger of two Kiribati airlines (after flag carrier Air Kiribati), established in January 2009. The airline operated domestic service to all 17 airports in the Gilbert Islands, but stopped any regular service and offers o ...

. Both airlines are based in Tarawa's

Bonriki International Airport Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country. It is located in its capital, South Tarawa, which is a group of islets in the atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, precisely on ...

and serve destinations across the Gilbert Islands and Line Islands only:

and the

are not served by the domestic carriers. The Coral Sun Airways airline flies from Bonriki international airport to the islands of Abaing, Abermama, Aranuka, Arorae, Beru, Butaritari, Kuria, Makin, Marakei, Onotoa, Nonouti, Nikunau, Tabitevea & Tamana.

Cassidy International Airport Cassidy International Airport is an airport located north of Banana, a settlement on Kiritimati (pronounced Christmas) island in Kiribati. Until 2018, it was the only airport in the Kiribati part of the Line Islands with an IATA or ICAO code. ...

has an international service provided by

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji. It operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 27 destinations, and has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners, includi ...

Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...

to Cassidy Airport and then to

Communications and media

With the combination of the islands' remote location in the Central Pacific at approximately the International Date Line, and islands spanning hundreds of miles north and south of the equator, communications within the country have always been challenging. Primarily, communication is conducted by radio and print media. TV Kiribati Ltd was owned by the government and operated between 2004 and mid-2012, but could not reach all of the islands. Radio Kiribati, based on Tarawa and operated by the government's Broadcasting and Publications Authority (BPA) on 1440 kHz AM, is the only form of mass media that reaches all the major islands. Transmission hours are limited and local content in Gilbertese is supplemented by English summaries and BBC News. The BPA and a private broadcaster also operate FM stations accessible on Tarawa. Inter-island communications for many years relied on a centralized shortwave radio network operated by Telecom Services Kiribati, Ltd ( TSKL) based in each Island's Council Headquarters. Numerous issues including low availability, maintenance, privacy, and only one per island led TSKL to adopt satellite-based telephones. However, the system is more expensive and still only located at Council Headquarters. Print weeklies in Gilbertese include the ''Te Uekara'' published by the government, ''Te Mauri'' published by the Kiribati Protestant Church, and the ''Kiribati Independent'', published from

as well as the ''Kiribati Newstar'', published in English. In December 2019, SpaceX launched the Kacific1 broadband satellite that provides 100 Mbit/s mobile and broadband service to 25 countries throughout to the Asia-Pacific region including Kiribati. Three of the satellite's 56 spot beams provide overlapping coverage of the Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu; however, the more eastern regions of the country, the Phoenix and Line Islands, are outside of the satellite's coverage. The Southern Cross NEXT cable system, which entered service in July 2022, connects the US to Australia and provides service to eastern part of Kiribati (Kiritimati island) through the Kiritimati Branch with one fiber pair. The network, which is an upgrade to the existing

Southern Cross Cable The Southern Cross Cable is a trans-Pacific Ocean, Pacific network of telecommunications cables commissioned in 2000. The network is operated by the Bermuda-registered company ''Southern Cross Cables Limited''. The network has of Submarine co ...

, also connects to Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand. In June 2021, the World Bank-backed procurement for the East Micronesian Cable system was cancelled due to security concerns. The undersea fiberoptic system, which would have originated in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, was "designed to improve the communications in the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)." In January 2023, ministers from the three Pacific island nations signed a joint communiqué for moving forward with the stalled project. Funded by the U.S., Japan and Australia the project is valued at $70 million. In early 2023, it was reported that Kiribati became the first Pacific island country to receive

Starlink Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...

services.

Demographics

The November 2020 census showed a population of 119,940. About 90% lived in the

, with 52.9% of them on South Tarawa, including

, the biggest township. Until recently, people lived mostly in villages with populations between 50 and 3,000 on the outer islands. Most houses are made of materials obtained from coconut and pandanus trees. Frequent droughts and infertile soil hinder reliable large-scale agriculture, so the islanders have largely turned to the sea for livelihood and subsistence. Most are outrigger sailors and fishermen. Copra plantations serve as a second source of employment. In recent years, large numbers of citizens have moved to the more urban island capital of Tarawa, where Betio is the largest town and South Tarawa reunites larger towns like

Bikenibeu Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...

Teaoraereke Teaoraereke (in Gilbertese, the narrow surface) is a town and settlement in South Tarawa of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which are now linked by causeways, between Bairiki ...

. South Tarawa's 2024 population is now estimated at 69,710. In 1978, the population of South Tarawa was 17,921.

Ethnicity

The native people of Kiribati are called

I-Kiribati The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Ethno ...

. Ethnically, the I-Kiribati are

Oceanians Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania vary, with it being defined in various ways, often geopolitically or geographically. In the geopolitical conception used by the U ...

, a sub-ethnicity of

Austronesians The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...

. Recent archaeological evidence indicates that Austronesians originally settled the islands thousands of years ago. Around the 14th century, Fijians, Samoans, and Tongans invaded the islands, thus diversifying the ethnic range and introducing Polynesian linguistic traits. Intermarriage among all ancestral groups, however, has led to a population reasonably homogeneous in appearance and traditions.

Languages

The people of Kiribati speak

, an

. English is the other

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

, but is not used very often outside the island capital of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

s have been adopted (like ''buun'', spoon, ''moko'', smoke, ''beeki'', pig, ''batoro'', bottle) but some typical Gilbertese words are quite common, even for Western objects (like ''wanikiba'', plane – the flying canoe, ''rebwerebwe'', motorbike – for the motor noise, ''kauniwae'', shoes – the cow for the feet).

Religion

Christianity is the major religion in Kiribati, having been lately introduced by

, because of its remoteness and the absence of any significant European presence until the latter half of the 19th century. The population is predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(58.9%), with two main Protestant denominations (

Kiribati Protestant Church The Kiribati Protestant Church (KPC) and earlier, the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church, is a Protestant Christian denomination in Kiribati. With approximately 10,000 members,Kiribati Uniting Church The Kiribati Uniting Church (KUC) (until 2014 the Kiribati Protestant Church and earlier, the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church) is a united Protestant Christian denomination in Kiribati. With approximately 25,000 members,

21.2%) accounting for 29.6%.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(5.6%),

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

(2.1%),

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

(2.1%),

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived ...

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

, and other small faiths together account for less than 2% (2020 census).

Health

The

where 90% of the Kiribati population live, boast some of the highest population densities in the Pacific, rivalling cities like Hong Kong or Singapore without any

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

s or other forms of conventional high-density housing. This overcrowding produces a great amount of pollution, worsening the quality and length of life. Due to insufficient sanitation and water filtration systems, worsened by the fragility of the water lens of the atolls and by climate change, only about 66% have access to clean water. Waterborne diseases grow at record levels throughout the islands. Poor sanitation has led to an increase in cases of conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, dysentery, and fungal infections. Kiribati is the country with the third highest prevalence of smoking in the world, with 54–57% of the population reported as smokers. Due to this and other "

lifestyle disease Lifestyle diseases can be defined as the diseases linked to the manner in which a person lives their life. These diseases are non-communicable disease, non-communicable, and can be caused by lack of physical activity, Junk food, unhealthy eating ...

s", such as

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

, there has been a drastic spike in amputations on the islands, doubling in a few years. As a consequence, the population of Kiribati has a quite low life expectancy at birth of 68.46 years. Even if this data is of only 66.9 years, provided elsewhere, Kiribati ranks last in life expectancy out of the 20 nations of Oceania. This life expectancy is 64.3 for males, and 69.5 for females and there is an infant mortality rate of 41 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

has a small presence in the country, with 365 cases per 100,000 a year. Government expenditure on health was at US$268 per capita (PPP) in 2006. In 1990–2007, there were 23 physicians per 100,000 persons. Since the arrival of Cuban doctors in 2006, the infant mortality rate has decreased significantly. Most health problems are related to consumption of semi-raw seafood, limited food storage facilities, and bacterial contamination of fresh water supplies. In the early 2000s, between 1 and 7% of the population, depending on the island, were annually treated for food poisoning in a hospital. Modernization and cross-cultural exchange of the late 20th century brought new issues of unhealthy diet and lifestyle, heavy smoking, especially among the young, and external infections, including

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Fresh water remains a concern of Kiribati – during the dry season (Aumaiaki), water has been drilled for instead of using rain water tanks. In recent years, there has been a longer than usual Aumaikai season resulting in additional water having to be drilled from beneath the water table. This has introduced water-borne illnesses, compounding the health problems within Kiribati. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Kiribati is fulfilling 77.2% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Kiribati achieves 93.8% of what is expected based on its current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves 92.2% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. Kiribati falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the government is fulfilling only 45.5% of what the country is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.

Education

Primary education is free and compulsory for the first nine years, beginning at age six. Mission schools are slowly being absorbed into the government primary school system. Higher education is expanding; students may seek technical, teacher or marine training, or study in other countries. Most choosing to do the latter have gone to Fiji to attend the

, and those wishing to complete medical training have been sent to Australia, New Zealand or Cuba. The education system is organised as follows: * Preschool for childhood from 1 to 5 years; * Primary school (Class 1 to 6) from 6 to 11 years; * Junior secondary school (Form 1 to 3) from 12 to 14; * Senior secondary school (Form 4 to 7) from 15 to 18.

Kiribati Ministry of Education Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

is the education ministry. The government high schools are

King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School (KGV/EBS) is a government senior high school of Kiribati, located in Bikenibeu, South Tarawa. it had almost 600 students. In 1993 it had a competitive admissions process as there was not enough space for e ...

, ''Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School'', and ''Melaengi Tabai Secondary School''. Thirteen high schools are operated by Christian churches. The University of the South Pacific has a campus in

for distant/flexible learning, but also to provide preparatory studies towards obtaining certificates, diplomas and degrees at other campus sites. The other prominent schools in Kiribati are: * the Marine Training Centre in Betio; * the Kiribati Institute of Technology; * the Kiribati Fisheries Training Centre; * the Kiribati School of Nursing; * the Kiribati Police Academy; * the Kiribati Teachers College.

Culture

Songs (''te anene'') and dances (''te mwaie'') are held in high regard.

Music

Kiribati folk music is generally based on

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of note ...

or other forms of vocalising, accompanied by

body percussion Body percussion may be performed on its own or as an accompaniment to music and/or dance. Examples of countries' folk traditions that incorporate body percussion include Indonesian saman, Ethiopian armpit music, palmas in flamenco, and the hambone ...

. Public performances in modern Kiribati are generally performed by a seated chorus, accompanied by a guitar. However, during formal performances of the standing dance (''Te Kaimatoa'') or the hip dance (''Te Buki''), a wooden box is used as a percussion instrument. This box is constructed to give a hollow and reverberating tone when struck simultaneously by a chorus of men sitting around it. Traditional songs are often love-themed, but there are also competitive, religious, children's, patriotic, war and wedding songs. There are also stick dances which accompany legends and semi-historical stories. These stick dances or ''tirere'' (pronounced "seerere") are performed only during major festivals.

Dance

Kiribati dance is distinguished among other Pacific island dances by its emphasis on the outstretched arms of the dancer and sudden birdlike movements of the head. The

frigate bird Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...

(''Fregata minor'') on the Kiribati flag is emblematic of this bird-like style of Kiribati dancing. Most dances are in the standing or sitting position with movement limited and staggered. Smiling whilst dancing is generally considered vulgar within the context of Kiribati dancing. This is due to its origin of not being solely as a form of entertainment but as a form of storytelling and a display of the skill, beauty and endurance of the dancer.

Cuisine

Traditionally, the staple diet of the I-Kiribati was the abundance of seafood and coconuts. Starch-based carbohydrate sources were not plentiful due to the hostile climate of the atolls with only the northernmost atolls being viable for constant agriculture. The national crop '' bwabwai'' was only eaten during special celebrations along with pork. file:Babai.jpg, Bwabwai cultivation in

To complement the rather low consumption of carbohydrates in their diets, the I-Kiribati processed the sap and fruit of the abundant pandanus and coconut trees into different beverages and foods such as ''te karewe'' (fresh daily sap of the coconut tree) or ''

te tuae Pandanus paste is a dried fruit preserve made from the fruit of Pandanus tectorius, most commonly found in the low-lying atoll islands of Micronesia. In the harsh climate of the atoll islands, Pandanus fruit serve as an important staple food and n ...

'' (dried pandanus cake) and ''te kabubu'' (dried pandanus flour) from pandanus fruit pulp and ''te kamaimai'' (coconut sap syrup) from coconut sap. After World War II, rice became a daily staple in most households, which is still the case today. The majority of seafood—in particular, fish—is eaten sashimi-style with either coconut sap, soy sauce or vinegar-based dressings, often combined with chillies and onions.

Coconut crabs The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight up to . The distance from the tip of one leg to t ...

and

mud crabs Mud crab may refer to any crab that lives in or near mud, such as: *''Scylla serrata'' *''Scylla tranquebarica'' *''Scylla paramamosain'' *''Scylla olivacea'' *Members of the family Panopeidae, such as ''Panopeus herbstii'' *Members of the family ...

are traditionally given to breastfeeding mothers, with the belief that the meat stimulates the production of high-quality

breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by the mammary glands in the breasts of women. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborn infants, comprising fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and a var ...

Sport

Kiribati has competed at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

since 1998 and the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

since 2004. It sent three competitors to its first Olympics, two sprinters and a weightlifter. Kiribati won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

, when weightlifter

David Katoatau David Katoatau (born 17 July 1984) is an I-Kiribati weightlifter who received international press attention due to dance routines he performed following his lifts at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in order to bring attention to the impact of climate ...

won Gold in the 105 kg Group.

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

is the most popular sport.

Kiribati Islands Football Federation The Kiribati Islands Football Association, formerly the Kiribati Islands Football Federation, is the governing body of association football, football in Kiribati, established in 1980. It organises the nation's football league, the Kiribati Nation ...

(KIFF) is an associate member of the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

, but not of world-governing body

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. Instead, they are member of

ConIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are non-FIFA international football, not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Men's competitions * CONIFA Wo ...

. The Kiribati National team has played ten matches, all of which they have lost, and all at the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

from 1979 to 2011. The Kiribati football stadium is

Bairiki National Stadium The Bairiki National Stadium is located in Bairiki, Kiribati. It is the national stadium and the home of Kiribati's men's and women's national football teams. The official name of the stadium is Reuben K. Uatioa Stadium. The stadium's capaci ...

, which has a capacity of 2,500. The Betio Soccer Field is home to a number of local sporting teams.

Outside perspectives

Edward Carlyon Eliot Edward Carlyon Eliot, (18 April 1870 – 1 January 1940) was a British Colonial Service administrator. Personal Eliot was the son of Edward Eliot and Elizabeth Harriette (née Watling), and described as a neat, slim man of medium height with ...

, who was Resident Commissioner of the

(now Kiribati and Tuvalu) from 1913 to 1920, describes this period in his autobiography ''Broken Atoms''. Sir

wrote about his time working in the British colonial service in Kiribati (then the Gilbert Islands) from 1914 to 1932 in two popular books ''A Pattern of Islands'' (1952) and ''Return to the Islands'' (1957). He also undertook academic studies of Gilbertese culture. John Smith, the last governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, wrote his memoir ''An Island in the Autumn'' (2011). J. Maarten Troost's more recent autobiographical experiences in

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

The Sex Lives of Cannibals'' (2004). Alice Piciocchi's illustrated essay, ''Kiribati. Cronache illustrate da una terra (s)perduta'', (2016) Milan: 24 ORE Cultura, also translated into French (2018, éditions du Rouergue), tries to write and portray a comprehensive encyclopaedic book of modern Kiribati.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * (also in French) * * * * * * * *

External links

Map of Kiribati
from World Maps
Kiribati National Tourism Office

Parliament of Kiribati

Kiribati National Climate Change Portal

(archived 6 May 2009)

General information

Kiribati
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

.
Kiribati
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 7 June 2008)
Kiribati
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

* *
Exhibit: The Alfred Agate Collection: The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842
from the Navy Art Gallery (archived 14 January 2012)
Birds of Kiribati
from

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

{{Coord, 1, 25, N, 173, 00, E, display=title Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations Countries in Micronesia Countries in Oceania British Western Pacific Territories Countries and territories where English is an official language Island countries Least developed countries Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Member states of the United Nations Small Island Developing States States and territories established in 1979 Christian states World War II sites 1979 establishments in Oceania